Seasons
by kokoronoitami
Summary: Rated for violence, sexuality, gore, dry humor: A predator's battle spills into a woman's house. She finds herself stranded with him, obstructed by the language barrier. Will she help him elude the F.B.I after learning his true intentions? R
1. Meeting

Disclaimer: I don't own predator, alien Garber or Weyland. Names Sharon, Jones & Gary are MINE. K'tch a willing subject.

* * *

It was undoubtedly her fault for neglecting it for nearly two hours as she sat shocked and slumped in the dark corner... the thing laying eagle spread on its back. It had taken her all of one hour to stop trembling. The slight pains were starting to become aches now, her body fighting the injuries she was too worried to attend to. There was no way she was going to finish washing those dishes, especially after having been knocked away from them by the force of that thing being thrown through the window above the sink.  
The clock showed no signs of stopping and the thing had done little more than twitched. Perhaps it was dying... or already on the edge of death. Was there anything she could do for it? Should she do anything for it? 

She swallowed before inhaling slowly, tucking dark shoulder-length strands of hair back to unveil frightened chocolate-colored eyes.  
After another half an hour, she was on her knees, trying desperately to piece together the split second events just moments prior that had her startled and frozen, back against her cabinets. Help could not be accomplished simply trembling in the corner, that she had to remind herself as she inched forward. She could do this. All she had to do was put one hand in front of the other. The cold from the hard tile floor pressed into her knees through the thin material, one pajama-pant clad knee following the other as she slowly crawled through her kitchen. With another shaky breath, she summoned the energy required to stand, applying pressure to the floor and picking herself up.

In a matter of moments, she was standing before it, gawking, eyes wide with disbelief at the muscular build, the armor, the strange whip-like cords protruding from its skull. At first she had mistaken it for a man in the dim light, until she heard it growl. She chuckled nervously to herself, recalling just a little while ago her timid inquiries into its condition."Sir? Sir are you allri-" the terrible growl still reverberated through her mind.

Oh it was definitely not human, and no it was not alright.

She had finally calmed herself enough to build up the nerve to creep around to its right side, avoiding the bits of shattered glass that lay around it. She briefly glanced up at the large window over the sink. A replacement would cost a hell of a lot of money, but that was the least of her worries right now. The woman was suddenly struck with a feeling of unease as she peered out into the dark summer night through the billowing curtains. Something had propelled this thing through her kitchen window. Judging by the size and probable weight of this thing's build, whatever threw it had to be pretty strong.

Was it one of those creatures she had heard about on the news? Was it somehow connected to those strange subjects that had escaped that company owned lab up in the mountains? Perhaps this thing on the floor knew the answer.

She suppressed a sigh. If only she had bought a house closer to the city and invested in a room mate. Her gaze traveled back down to the humanoid. The cordless that she had left lying on the table was now lying in the debris that used to be her beautiful mahogany dining room set, a home warming gift from her friends. The device was nestled almost humorously between the side of the thing's chest and right arm. Holding her breath, the woman knelt, sliding her knees carefully to avoid glass as she reached forward tentatively. She just had to take it, dial 911 and then everything would be alright, let them take it from here. Oh yes. Everything would be just fine. Even better, she might just wake up.

"C'mon..." she breathed, right hand trembling as she reached over the creature to reclaim her phone, movements painfully slow. "Everything's going to be fine... .. I'm going to wake up..." Her hand had finally closed around the device. She barely had time to catch the minute transition back into consciousness when she heard a faint gurgling noise. Before she had time to react, a tough claw-like hand closed around her small wrist, the visual of just how large its hand was around her arm the most terrifying thing she'd ever seen. Her eyes became impossibly wide at the site of the thing closing in as it rose before her. Before either of them knew what had happened, her vision faltered and darkened, the ground springing up to meet her.

* * *

The creature was careful in his ministrations, quickly and properly attending his wounds with great discipline. He had just finished withdrawing the syringe from his sore midsection when he turned to the creature that had collapsed a little while ago. It still had not come back to consciousness. 

Would it?

He briefly wondered if he should leave it, or have it accompany him to his destination as a decoy. Decoys were risky business and only a few of his kind had ever successfully pulled it off. There was the likely possibility of using the place this creature appeared to be living in as a post for now or at least until he could repair his camouflage. He walked closer to where he had left the creature lying after dragging it away from his sloppy intrusion. It was still bleeding a little from under its clothes. He had to remind himself that these things were fragile. Their skin broke easily. If it was going to be a decoy then it needed to be in better shape. It was essential that he took a closer look at it. Bending down, he easily picked the small unconscious creature up and began scanning the small rooms. Nothing down here would do. Growling, he followed the walls around to the stairs and slowly ascended them. There was a small room with little in it. It was likely storage. It wouldn't do either. Turning, he walked into the open room adjacent.

A long flat surface little more than two feet off the ground lay in the middle of it. Wooden storages and shelves were planted next to it. Soft material draped the centered flat surface. This room was better. Carefully, he lay the creature upon the neatly arranged cushiony material and it made a very soft noise…so very soft and weak. Almost immediately, he unhooked his supplies, moments later removing his mask to get a better look. Its breathing was a little distressed, but it wasn't beyond repair. First things first, he needed to take inventory of its injuries. He gently placed his right claw-like hand on the material that covered it, grabbing a fist full. So much for armor, the coverings were soft as well.  
He released the material, hand trailing up the front of its torso as he took a moment to figure out how to relieve it of the useless cloth it wore. His right mandible clicked in confusion. Not willing to waste time figuring it out, he pulled the collar up a little and used the claw of his right hand to slice the entire front of the cloth open, peeling it back. He leaned in curiously, emitting a guttural sounding purr as he immediately turned the human on its right side. Finding no injury there, he grabbed its shoulder and pulled it to rest on its back. The movement of two peculiar mounds of flesh caught his attention as his focus traveled back up to the torso . His eyes widened for a moment as he beheld a perfect set of soft mammary glands.

This knowledge had done little more than confirm its gender. Finding little amusement, he turned her onto the opposite side, eyes narrowing. So there was the wound, a few small gashes. …Trivial by standards, but nothing he couldn't fix. With little thought, he trailed a finger down the figure, trying to pinpoint the wound's circumference. The muscles beneath the female's flesh were toned. Perhaps the human wasn't so weak after all...

* * *

Newly shined shoes glinted in the spotlights. The scene was busy, men in dark uniforms and eager scientists littered a scene just outside of the city, collecting data. A tall dark-haired man in a suit stood in the center of the chaos, hair slicked back to perfection.  
The shorter man to his right shook his head. This was turning out to be the bloodiest night of the month. "So just what do we want to call this? A homicide?" he inquired, turning to the taller man on the right. 

"What suspects do we have? What motivation?" the older man raised a brow, sifting a hand through cropped salt and pepper hair.

"Do you really think a man could do this, Gary?" he sighed, watching as potential evidence was quickly gathered and bagged, markers being set, flashlights still scanning the dark woods beyond. "What kind of creature would rip a man's spinal chord from his body along with his head? What kind of creature could?" the taller man pushed.

Gary smiled. "Well, that's what we're here to find out, Jones."

"I know…and we're going to solve it," he declared confidently.  
The older man's thoughts quickly reverted to the image of a stack of vanilla-folders about several inches high of cases over the years that had unfortunately gone dry. They were all tucked into the big black cabinet with the safety lock near the printer in his office..

"We'll sure as hell try to get to the bottom of this..."

"Try?" the tall man's voice rose. "Oh no, Gary. We'll solve it. That, I can promise you."  
Gary shook his head with a grunt. "Wasn't there a case like this a while back in the big city? Those on both sides of the law were brutally murdered in the same manner. I hear the cops wandered off track though when forensics came up empty-handed..."  
The taller man raised a brow.  
"Empty-handed? Really? That's not what I heard."

"Issat so, Jones..."

"They recovered an appendage after following the trail of the cop who survived the chase... and judging from the description, it wasn't human."

Gary's dark brows drew down cautiously. "So what are you tryina say? The thing that killed those people back then wasn't human?"

"Naturally."

"You've gotta be kiddin'..."

"Oh no."

He smiled.  
"...I know, Jones... You're with the big boys. You know somethin' that the government wouldn't tell a small-town cop like me," he smiled, pulling a cigar from his pocket and lighting it. "So, what's your theory?"

"You really wanna know?"

"Yeah. Lay it down for an old friend… Unless this is top secret or something?"  
The other man turned his back, looking down on the scene.

"Heh...I'll tell you what I believe. Not only do I believe whatever did this is not human, but I also don't think it's from around here…"  
The shorter man was silent for a moment, noting his emphasis on the word, here before shaking his head.

"You're jokin'."

"That's the only explanation there could be, Gary."

The other man chuckled.

"So you trying to tell me this thing was a god-damn alien?"  
"Look at the facts for yourself. A high-tech team of the best scientists and tacticians are on the hunt for a killer whose defense mechanism makes it virtually invisible to the naked eye. They claim it uses technology far more advanced than anything they've ever encountered and according to the only known descriptions, its obvious that no one's caught up with it. I'm certain no taxonomists, zoologists or biologists have run across it before either or there'd be at least a page devoted to it in the encyclopedia. Seriously, what else could it be?" 

Gary laughed heartily, Jones chuckling in response.  
"The real question is Gary, since it's back, where is it hiding?"

The other man breathed deep, calming his laughter. "You find any little green men, Jones, partner, you betta let me know... ok? There ain't no more secrets walled up down at the precinct."  
Jones's smile softened.  
"I know."

"I'll bet you do..." he agreed, half-amused.

"Ya know, It's out there...and I'm gonna bring it in."  
Gary smirked, watching as the other man's eyes gleamed with an all-too familiar confidence.

* * *

The woman sighed deep before rolling onto her stomach. She was entirely too groggy for any of the images that came to her mind to make sense. It was decided before she even sat up that it had all been a terrible nightmare. That was the only logical explanation. She sat up carefully, eyes adjusting to the dark room before her brain finally registered the presence on her left. She turned hesitantly, eyes widening as she beheld the tall alien creature standing over her, face hidden by a very large metal mask. Whether its temperament mirrored the stern expression of its mask was something she wasn't willing to find out. 

Her first reaction got the best of her, much to the creature's amusement as she screamed long and loud before scrambling into the corner farthest from it. Realizing the state of her appearance, she quickly clutched her pajama top closed.

He took a step toward her and she flattened herself against the wall. 

"Don't you come near me! Not one more step... You come any closer to me and I'll scream!"

As if her words meant nothing, he continued to saunter over towards her, the woman surprising him by bolting out of the room.

* * *

His camoflauge was damaged, but no matter. She would be easy to find without it in the dimly lit house without it. As predicted, she was hiding behind a large mass surrounded by smaller masses. He purred in delight, inadvertently alerting her. She bolted once  
more into another dark room and he frowned. She really needed to stop running before he gave in and started to hunt her. The thought sent a thrill of pleasure through him. He cornered her once more, watching as her jaw dropped. Before she could bolt again, he reached out and grabbed her by the wrist, ignoring her struggles.

"Let me go! Please! I didn't do anything! What are you doing! Let me go! Now!"

She was suddenly caught off balance as he let go and she fell back. He knelt over her, watching her, waiting for her to say something.  
She bit her bottom lip as she stared numbly up at him. She was breathing loud and quick, a sign of fear he knew.

"Are you some special government agent? What is it you want from me? I can't give you money? S-supplies? You've got the wrong person. Just...just leave..!"

He purred louder, masked face just inches from her own.

"Please... Don't hurt me..."

He translated her request, saying nothing as he slowly backed off of her. Hurt her? For what? So his superiors could make jest at his choice of easyprey? Hell no. He was tempted to jab a finger at those bandages on her side to convince her to think before she decided to accuse him of wanting anything to do with her utterly unchallenging and meaningless death.  
He stood still as he watched her sorely come to her senses. She stood with an absurd amount of delay, pulling her torn shirt close in shocked modesty. It was then that she noticed something stuck to her side. She reached beneath the remains of her top, hand gliding over what felt like a very strange bandage of sorts. She swallowed, eyes resting on his silent figure.

"D-Did you... do this?"

So she wasn't as slow as he assumed she was. If he could smile, he would have. Instead he grunted, nodding slowly and silently.

"Y-you did? Thanks..."

He said nothing.

An uncomfortable silence followed as she realized she was back in her kitchen, surveying the damage she had wanted to believe was a nightmare. She turned to her fridge suddenly, watching it out of the corner of her eye as she grabbed herself a drink. Oh yes... she was going to need a good old glass of wine to wash the shock away from this. The creature was watching her still as she took two gulps straight from the bottle. Slowly, she turned to the peculiar intruder, hand outstretched.

"Guess its okay to offer you something for bandaging me. Are you... thirsty?"  
It, well it looked rather masculine so she began mentally referring to it as a he, cocked his head, taking a step toward her.

Now what was she trying to give him? Probably something he didn't even want. Regardless, he reached forward, grasping the bottle and examining it. He needed to take his mask off to get a better scent. He pushed it back at her before finding the release for his mask. In moments he was prying it off of his disturbing features, much to her shock.

"Oh my god.."

The glass slipped from her hand, crashing to the floor as she finally got a glimpse of his face. He turned quickly, rattling the long tentacle-like hair that protruded from his head as he stepped closer, glancing down at the dark liquid pooling on the floor.  
Well whatever it was, he wasn't going to get on the floor to investigate it. He watched her cautiously, waiting for her to present him with something else.

"I'm sorry... I was just... I didn't know..." Trying her best to hide her fear, she turned to the fridge once more before producing another bottle. This one was smaller than the first, but looked similar. He growled anxiously, yellow reptilian gaze piercing into her as he reached forward and took it. All four protruding mandibles spread and he tilted the bottle. No... this was nothing he wanted.  
He gave it back at once. She took it nervously before peering into the fridge again. "How about juice?" she showed another little bottle to him. He shook its head this time. She looked again, reaching deeper into the large white box.  
"Water?"  
He grasped the bottle from her curiously, opening its pincher-like mandibles and pouring a little into what she could only assume was his mouth. He gave the bottle back to her.  
She cleared her throat and put it back. "A... Are you hungry?"

The creature cocked his head and she had to tear her gaze away from the severe features.

"Hun-gry? Food?"

A mandible twitched.

"Umm... have you ever had anything in here?" she inquired as she immediately began pulling items out and letting him examine them.  
Left-over pizza was a no. Pasta was quickly passed over. The waffle was barely investigated. The cherry pie was practically shoved back into her arms and the boiled egg ended up mangled on the floor.

"This is your last shot..." the woman sighed, pulling the cover off of half a pan of left-over meatloaf. He grunted, holding the pan oddly before reaching in and grasping a chunk of it. She watched curiously as his very peculiar mouth opened and the meat disappeared inside. "Oh..." she raised a brow at his content.. "Good. You... you have that while I... get dressed," she informed him as she headed back toward the stairs.

The foreign creature growled suddenly, the sound halting her and making the hairs on the back of her neck stand. "...I'll be back.. " she swallowed. "Honest, I'm just going upstairs..." she pointed up before turning away from him stiffly... muttering under her breath. "Thanks for ripping my damn shirt to pieces..."

He watched quietly as she slowly went back upstairs. Seeing her meandering as no threat, he continued to delve into the meatloaf.  
It was only moments later that she returned sporting jeans, sneakers, and a dark short-sleeved v-neck; as close to armor as he assumed she was going to get. The creature paid her little mind as she proceeded to sweep up the glass still spread out over the floor.

With a sigh, she finally decided to flick on the low-light. That got his attention for a moment as he growled. "I'm just cleaning..." she explained quickly. The hunter was suddenly alert, dropping the pan and taking on a defensive stance. The dark-haired woman inhaled sharply at his reaction to something she could not see, the thought immediately making her heart thud.  
"W-what is it?"

He said nothing as he crouched low, the woman quickly following suit and laying down her broom. The savagely clad humanoid pointed to his mask near her and then back to himself. She nodded, picking up his mask or helmet, whatever the hell it was, before scrambling over to where he stood. A little device that she hadn't even noticed was on his shoulder suddenly took a position as she gave him his equipment. Within a matter of moments he was set. He backed up slowly, the woman trembling behind him. She soon found herself in a corner, peering under his arm to get a better look at what was coming. Something shifted from over the sink. In the silence they waited…..and waited...until suddenly a dark figure began to creep down over the sink.

The woman bit her lip to silence her horror...

She was going to die. There was no question about it. She was going to die. Why? Because she had never seen the utterly frightening looking beast that was creeping over the shattered glass in the sink and slowly making its way over the counter. She'd be counting the years till she saw this thing on National Geographic... It would have to be a special... one of those nice two hour specials...  
It was moving so slow, calculated. God, it was hideous and damn did this thing have a long-ass skull. Her mind was spared any further terror when a light in front of her flashed. Before she realized what had happened, she noticed that the dark creature had fallen, a hole through it still smoldering.

Her eyes were wide as the pale blood from the creature began to eat a hole through her nice wood floor. New window, new table and chairs, new floor... and from the look of it, new cabinets as well. What horrible luck. There was a long pause from the both of them, the only sound that of the blood sizzling through the cabinets it spattered. Smoke from the little device mounted on the humanoid's shoulder began to disperse as the woman looked on in terror and amazement. Slowly, the hunter beside her stood up.

She didn't notice that she was actually following him, only became aware of his movements away from the corner they were in and her needing to stay close to the figure who apparently knew what the hell was going on. The predator momentarily acknowledged the small female hanging close to him. He purred. Such an easily intimidated species. Still, the small adult female had given him food, chosen to help him. There was nothing wrong with letting her hang around, long as she continued to be useful. Perhaps she could get him more of that meaty stuff for the trip back. In the meantime, he was going to repair his camouflage before the light came. He turned his back to go upstairs, vaguely amused that she was following. He would see how long she stuck with him after he acquired a few good trophy skulls from her species... 


	2. Barriers

There was the aura of the rush, clothing beaten back by the light wind as the area was scouted, lab coats lifting in the warm summer breeze. 

"I think we've got somethin' over here...!"

The pride of the F.B.I's investigative unit smirked, breathing easy.

"I'll bet we have... "

"Jones... you need to have a look at this..." a light-haired assisstant prompted.

His smile widened as he looked at the small green tissue sample nestled neatly between the pair of tweezers.

"Look familiar?" the man raised a brow as he adjusted narrow glasses.

"Looks quite familiar." He then turned to look back at the short man currently engaged wholeheartedly in a conversation on his cell. "Hey, Gary! Get your ass off the phone! We've got us a winner!"

* * *

There was little for her to do as she watched the creature in the corner, illuminated by the soft lamp light. She had finally convinced herself that it was okay to put her head on her pillow as long as the thing was preoccupied. It looked like a male, but like nothing she'd ever encountered before. Under the strange fish-net suit it wore, the lamp-light traced the well-built muscles of its abdomen and arms. A necklace of bones was strung around its neck, twisting in the fish-net. Surely it was foreign in origins. Strange panels of armor graced its shoulders and each side of its hips. More were attatched to its legs and folded out to cover its feet. A thick material-like loin hung down between its thighs. There were strange mechanical devices on its arms.

What if it was androgynous? It seemed pretty male. Masculine or not, it was still alien to her and therefore still an it. 

The creature had been kneeling in the corner, tinkering with this thing on its arm for nearly an hour, poking at it. It was so utterly absorbed that it hadn't looked her way once for the duration of its prodding.

She watched the predator curiously, finding it was easier to look at it when its mask was on. Just seconds after coming to her conclusion, it suddenly removed the mask, peering closer at its problem.

She shook her head.

Spoke too soon...

It took a small tool from somewhere off of its body and began poking at the device. The sparking startled her for the umpteenth time but the creature paid it no mind at all, gaze fixed on its problem.

She looked up at the clock on her bedroom wall.

4:50 A.M.

How long was it gonna play with that thing? The sudden sparking and mechanical sounds were driving her mad.

One more spark... and she swore she was going to do something about it.

She closed her eyes slowly.

Five minutes. Just five minutes and then she would investigate.

CRACKLE

She jumped up with a start, eyes wide. Her quick commotion caught the thing's attention and it briefly looked up at her, meeting her wide eyes.

To its confusion, her eyes narrowed.

She turned, sliding her legs off of the bed and planting her sneakers firm on the carpet, breathing deep before rising.

"My God... what the hell are you doing?" she frowned as she walked over to it, peering down over the device it couldn't stop picking at.

With its other hand it pointed. She moved in closer to see. It pointed again.

She sighed angrily. It was a complicated little thing, but it still seemed to have a pattern. Where the pattern broke, a little wire seemed to be out of place and apparently out of reach.

"You know what..." she got up, turning to the dresser on the other side of the room and opening a small box resting on the corner. She took something small out and then returned.

It was the thing's turn to be amused.

"Lemme see...maybe I can fix it... my hands are smaller..."

It made its guttural sounding purr as it watched her anxiously. She took its arm gently, little tweezer ready. Now where was the problem here? Almost immediately she spotted the small severed wire. She put two and two together, lifting it tentatively to connect it.

A little signal beeped, signifying the connection.

"Well would ya look at that?" She looked up at it with a smirk as it took its arm back, typing in a little code. She took a seat beside it as she watched.

"So, You got a name?" she inquired, looking straight into the reptilian eyes.

It nodded.

Oh... There was silence.

...and more silence before...

"Umm... yeah... I wasn't asking for the hell of it. I'd like to know what it is. Your name? You see, MY name is Sharon," she said pointing to herself and trying not to stare at its mandibles too hard. "What is YOUR name?"  
It lifted a mandible. Making a funny noise.

She raised a brow. Surely that was not its name.

"What?"

It opened its mandibles again and she listened to the strange noise it made. That was more of an onomatopoeia... not a name.

"...Did you say Gwa-ahTch?"

It nodded and she raised a brow.

"Whoa wait a minute. That is ALL of your name? Whole name? No Last name? Family name? My name is Sharon Weyland."

A crease formed between its eyes and it opened its mouth, voice deep.

"Gwa-ah-Tch. Arra... Kitch."

She suppressed a smile. "Okay... I'm not gonna struggle with that one. You're Tch... from now on. Okay?"

It shook its head, speaking once more.

"K-tch..."

"Cha?"

"K-tch."

"Che?"

"K-tch!" it snapped. She jumped, momentarily startled before finding her nerve.

"Well excuse me for not knowing how to pronounce your damn words... Kuh-cha!"

It nodded, to her surprise.

Oh... well that was it.

"Now what was MY name?" she inquired suspiciously.

"Shhaaron..." it spoke, her eyes widened at the sound of its disturbingly low and guttural voice. "On second thought... don't say anything..."

It growled, continuing to punch in what appeared to be codes.

After a few moments of silence, Sharon spoke again.

"So, are you..." she trailed off, thinking it better not to ask. She was doing so well. Why offend it now? She looked up, surprised to see that it's gaze was on her. It was still waiting. She swallowed, continuing. Oh to hell with it. "...What are you?"

It looked confused for a moment.

"...A guy? A male? Man or Woman? Male or female?"

He knew what she was asking. He was just wondering why the hell it was she couldn't tell as he turned back to his devices. He could either struggle with trying to tell her in her language, or he could simply show her.

She had stopped anticipating an answer when it stood. She looked up at it, wondering what it was doing. It fumbled with something on it's hip before pulling the strangely intricate loin cloth aside.

She was shocked for a good moment, staring up at the obvious genetalia. She stared at it...

...and stared at it... jaw dropped.

"Is that a..." her right hand came up, index extended. The dark tampered with her depth perception as she accidentally poked it.

He growled visciously, mouth spread wide, the both loud and aggressive nature of its snarl causing her to jump back, hands up non-threatening.

"Whoa... SORRY!.. Just lookin... God.."  
He turned quickly, securing his protection once more with an angry set of clicks and growls.

Sharon shook her head. No doubt about it.

IT... was indeed a MALE. And like any male, very protective of its manhood.

She decided best to leave that subject alone. She stood, surveying her room. There wasn't much for her to be doing right now, perhaps calling out of work for the rest of the month, but the phones were dead.

About the most she was willing to do at this point was take a nap. It would be morning soon anyway. Without a second thought she turned, heading back toward her bed. A hand on her shoulder stopped her.

"What?"

He shook his head, pointing toward the window where her bed sat.

"So, I can't sleep?"

He shook his head once more before putting his mask back on. He motioned for her to follow him, heading downstairs for the exit.

She followed cautiously, praying no more long-skulled creatures were creeping about...


	3. Reststop

Jones smiled, taking a seat in the back of the black town car, eyes glancing over at the file left for him. 

The evidence had been sent to the lab nearly an hour ago, and already they were drawing conclusions. He looked at his watch. It was just a little past 5 a.m, and he had a very special meeting in only a few hours. He briefly contemplated whether he should go to the lab or stop at his condo and catch a break.

A little ringtone sounded and he raised a brow, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his cell.

"Yes..."

He smiled, listening to the voice on the other end. Everything was going according to plan. They already had a weapon in addition to a new location. And what was this? A house that appeared to have played host?

Things were just getting better and better. What would Gary say now that they had more evidence? Little green men?

Green? Maybe. Little? They would see about that. Their special guest could confirm what was collected. He picked up the file lying beside him, eyes darting to the picture of the man he was most anxious to meet.

This man could ensure that they were headed in the right direction.

He turned his attention back to his conversation. The man on the other end paused for a moment, sorting out a new lead before his voice lowered.

The smile slowly faded from Jones's face.

"Oh my..."

There was some bad news lurking about he realized. So, they had dug up the file on the owner of the house that would be his new crime scene.

Sharon Weyland... the only neice of the late Weyland. The man who owned the company whose investigative unit he was assigned to.

By the sound of it, she was merely some secretary, favored by her uncle and probably pretty well off on account of his will. Only 23 and living by herself out of town.

He spoke firmly into the reciever.

"Put her on our persons of interest list anyway..."

That would do it.

He ended the conversation quickly and concisely before glancing down at the cell, typing in a new number. Why not check up on the weapon's production. Hell, after nearly a decade of more toiling, perhaps they really could bag this thing.

In seconds the line was open.

"This is Jones. I need to talk to agent Corriano immediately."

* * *

They had been running for what seemed like forever with little rest. 

She grit her teeth, breathing deeply. Was he ever going to take a break? Perhaps he didn't need one, but she sure as hell did.

"Hey..." she puffed from behind, but he was still keeping on. Keeping on was an understatement. He was going strong.

Very strong.

To hell with that, she swallowed before inhaling deeply. She was exhausted. "I said HEY!" she shouted bitterly. The creature stopped, turning quickly to her and acknowledging her. "... Wait... I need a break..." she breathed, falling to her knees.

K-tch walked up to her silently, peering down at the exhausted creature.

A break from what?

He looked down at the device on his wrist. They had only been running for about 20 minutes now, slower than his usual pace, and only made about a mile and a half.

Unacceptable.

What was wrong with this girl...

He motioned for her to get up and she shook her head.

"God I'm tired..."

He sighed, staring at her a good few minutes as she calmed. After a moment, she looked up at him. "...Damn... did it ever occur to you that I was going to bed shortly before you crashed into my house?"

Silence.

"Did you ever think I might have had a long day's work before night?"

More silence, much to her annoyance.

"Do you even care?" she grit through clenched teeth.

To her surprise, he shook his head.

What an inconsiderate ass..

He was kneeling before her in an instant, head cocked.

She blinked twice when the deep voice sounded.

"Soon..."

"Huh?" her brows drew down. Did he just say soon? "W-what? Soon?"

K'tch nodded.

"...Whaddya mean soon? Soon what? Soon I can sleep?"

He nodded.

"Well then how much longer do we have to run?" He turned a little, pointing into the darkness.

She swallowed once more. Slowly rising to her feet. "Okay... Soon...I'm taking your word for it..."

He stood back to give her room to steady herself. What did she want him to do, carry her?

"...Can't you just..." she swallowed, breathing deep as he listened cautiously.

She'd better not say it..

"...just carry me?" she asked hopelessly.

He sneered mentally. Somebody hit her.

He sighed. He could... but why waste his reserves. He looked back down into the darkness, contemplating it. Well, they were only about ten minutes away from his camp. What harm would it do. He didn't carry her most of the way anyway. Besides, they could turn it in for the night as soon as they reached it.

He turned to the young woman who was looking nervously into the dark behind her. He reached forward, tapping her on the shoulder and she looked up to him quickly.

He pointed to himself first and she spoke.

"Ok... you?" she inquired.

He put his hands together, cupping each elbow opposite and rocked them back and forth slowly in a cradling motion.

"Ok.. you... Carry?"

He nodded. Then pointed sternly to her.

"Me?"

He nodded again.

"You'll carry me?"

He nodded once more, to her relief.

"...Oh... Well thank you for trying to- Whoa!" she was interrupted by the sudden motion of being slung straight over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

He growled quietly.

Why was he doing this...

Oh yeah.  
He had to remind himself that the creature over his shoulder might just come in handy.

Moments later and he had settled back into a comfortable pace, thoughts drifting to the ship that he was scheduled to return to in a few days. He would drop this female off sometime before then.

Before the ship and after he had at least two trophies.

His thoughts briefly flickered to his cleaning devices. He needed to bring back a few good skulls as a gift to one of his companion's proteges. You didn't just come to Earth and return without a skull.

The same could be said for going to the beach without bringing back an awesome shell. It's just something you did either to please someone or to please yourself.

He kept his eyes fixed on his destination, senses alert as he made his way down a small hill and up another, dodging trees with striking agility.

The creature over his shoulder suddenly spoke.

Pity. He had been enjoying the silence.

"You smell like a faint musky pond ya know," she declared.

He made an odd grumbling noise. Annoyance she assumed.

He would just ignore that comment.

And he did.

He welcomed the silence once more, pacing himself as he noted that they were almost there. He focussed on getting there in one piece.

"...Like one of those big ponds with a lot of foliage around it. I could just see a frog hopping along the edge of it and then you creeping around the water. Have you been in the pond down on the other side of my house?" she suddenly inquired.

Her question was met with silence and she sighed.

"Ya know what, fine. Don't answer."

He grunted, eyes narrowing.

He wouldn't.

The only sound for a moment was the wind whipping past him as he sifted through the woods. They were getting much closer now that the trees were getting sparse.  
He concentrated hard on listening as he slowed his pace, making sure that nothing else was around. He seriously doubted anything would be near his camp, but he had left it idle for a few hours, and there were other creatures on this planet. He kept his scanner alert as he came to a walking pace, hearing acute.

"Ya know you have some big feet," she conveniently chose to announce.

He would ignore that as well as he began to creep, keeping silent as he scouted the area around his camp, the sound of rushing water below getting louder. So far, the scanner was blank. A good sign.

"...Guess its true what they say about guys with big feet judging from the strip-tease you gave me back at my house..."

He stopped dead, resisting the urge to choke her. Instead, he roughly jerked her off of him, rolling his shoulder a little. She squeaked as she landed rather ungracefully upon a thatch of grass.

"Ow! Damn! You don't have to be a jerk," she muttered as she frowned, picking herself up, rubbing her side. "God, that hurt. We better be resting now. That's all I gotta say..."

That would be all she'd be able to say if she didn't stop complaining...

K'tch slowly got down on his hands and knees, Sharon following as they crawled through what seemed like a thicket in the early morning light. It came to an end abruptly and led into a small cave where the sound of running water was much louder.

K'tch would have raised a brow if he had any. Instead the muscle where it would be lifted as he sighed.

He hadn't thought to factor in sharing his hole in the wall with another, and the space was pretty tight. Well this was going to be interesting. He crawled in first before turning onto his side and pushing himself back to give the woman room. She made her way in soon after and halted almost immediately as she noticed the nearness of the glow of a few buttons on his wrist devices. There was barely enough room for her in there.

"Oh my god... This is IT?" her eyes widened. "Where the HELL am I supposed to sleep?"

At this point, K'tch really didn't know or care. If she didn't figure it out soon, he would do it for her. She wasn't essential to his mission and if she proved too cantankerous, he would simply get rid of her.

She turned this way and that, refusing to lie horizontal beside him.

This couldn't be happening.

She continued to shuffle and ponder for nearly ten minutes.

The soft thudding and pattering was really starting to get to him. He needed quiet, and if he didn't get it soon, someone was going to suffer for it.

Sharon cursed in frustration as she finally stretched herself out, turning toward K'tch, surprised that he still had his mask on.

Well... at least it wasn't very bright in here, even with the few glowing buttons on his strange devices it was better that she wasn't distracted by his face.

She put her head down on her arms and closed her eyes.

Her bliss was short-lived. Seconds later and she was startled by the rustle of a squirrel outside. She nearly jumped out of her skin.

"OH my god... what was that?" she hissed.

K'tch swallowed, gathering his nerve.

No more...

Before she could protest, K'tch reached forward, pulling her up against him quickly.

What she couldn't see, wouldn't hurt her. Keeping the creature close and distracted might get her to calm down. What was that lesson he had observed so long ago? Out of sight, out of mind? Well, that's how he remembered it. The concept applied to small creatures as well. He looked down at her. She was small enough...

Her body, facing him, was pressed gingerly against his as he kept an arm on her shoulder to keep her from trying to peer out into the darkness. Her eyes widened, brain scrambling as she was caught between embarassment and utter awkwardness.

"Eh... Kuh-cha?"

He made a click noise which she took as a what.

"What was that noise outside?"

He rolled his eyes behind the mask. How the hell was he supposed to know? All he knew was that the scanner proved it was no threat, which meant she shouldn't be frightened, which meant she needed to go to sleep. Immediately.

His hand slid down her arm and then curved about her torso as he pulled her closer, briefly reminding himself that he'd had his shots...

"Kuh-cha?" she questioned nervously, needing a place for her leg so she wasn't lying against him like a board. She put her right leg up over his left, arm going nervously around the strong waist.

Just pretend like he was one of those body-length pillows she'd seen in the store.

Ewww... the store would be out of business if they sold tight pillows that smelled faintly like musky ponds...

Why couldn't he have had a roomier place in mind.

"Gross..." she whispered.

The predator strained to calm his nerves. Good God, did this human ever shut up? K'tch groaned angrily, opening his mouth this time.

"Sleeeep..."

She tried to put her head down, realizing it'd be resting on the creature's chest.

Sharon swallowed, looking up to him for approval. The warrior said nothing more and she slowly relaxed against him, eyes falling shut.

She didn't care how offended he was.

He smelled like a pond.

* * *


	4. First Trophy

Note: I'm _really_ gettin' into this story. Warning: Some gore in this chapter. As always, read & review.

* * *

Weapons appeared to be doing its job for once, Jones noted with relief as he stepped out into the early morning light. The middle-aged man found himself impressed with what his top agent had gathered and orchestrated, based on the crime scene.

"So tell me how its going to go..." the tall darkly-clad figure demanded as he walked across the grass to greet the man in combat gear.

Corriano nodded, gloved hand adjusting an stark black cap over cropped dark hair.

"This is it," he motioned for the agent to follow him as he led him into the house. The scene in the kitchen was still busy as samples were being gathered. Jones took a good look at the damage surrounding the smoldering spot where the creature had been on the floor before turning to the shorter man. " We've adopted a plan similar to what Keyes and his agents had been attempting back in Los Angeles. Based on some of their data and police reports from the officers involved, we've come to the conclusion that the creature sometimes returns to a crime scene no later than one night after acting. That means we've got one night after bodies turn up to take a shot at him."

Jones nodded.

"Go on..."

"So this is what we've got in mind. Judging from the sequence of events, the scene here is still pretty recent. We're noting that its just hours old after taking the temperature of the water she left in the sink. At this point we can conclude approximately how long she's been gone. We got nothin' from the thing that was found by the sink."

"What did we find by the sink?"

"I can't explain it, " Corriano shook his head. "Damn monstrous beast. But here, we took photos before removing it," he added as he pulled one from his back pocket, Jones grasping it curiously, brows drawn down in concentration.

"The hell..."

"No one knows what it is. And get this... the stuff leaking from it burned a hole straight through the floor."

Jones made a noise of indifference as he put the photo into his pocket.

"How long do we think she's been away?" he questioned.

The shorter man smiled.

"Well, judging from the way her house is built, water temperature in both the kitchen and the bathrooms is strictly regulated. The water in her sink is always at a constant 85 degrees, which has dropped to a temperature that would allow for cooling as a result of having stopped running, or been left idle."

"I see."

"She had had the tub full of bath water, the baths regulated at 80 degrees. All we had to do was use the numbers and calculate the time it would take before the water reached the low temperature. We know for a fact it hasn't been left for more than five hours."

"Five hours?" Jone's dark eyes lit up, excitement beaming from him. "Glad I decided to stop by..."

Corriano laughed quietly. "Much better in person than over the phone..."

"So tell me," Jones crossed his arms, "...How are we going to catch the bastard.."

Corriano smirked, anxious to produce the result of years of underground research. "This is what makes your trip worth-while..." he stated, pulling a small red capsule from a pocket on his right hip. Jones raised a brow. "...And what the hell is this?"

"This..." Corriano held up the sample with pride, "Is going to knock him cold. You see, we haven't had any specimens in the past because they have either activated a self-destruct mechanism or slipped through the cracks. We've taken the speed of a bullet from an armor-piercing weapon and combined it with the lab's formula to create a powerful tranquilizer. With this..." he noted, pulling the new gun from his hip, "..he wont have time to do either. All of our back-up units have been equipped with the darts."

"...so then how do we avoid casualties if the shots are missed? I do recall this individual utilizing some weaponry all its own.."

Corriano nodded. "We stay out of the way, completely. The men will be called in as a last resort. Unlike Keye's group, we're aware that this being is capable of exercising more than one type of vision and we're not going to doubt it."

"So this plan is going to be carried out with computers instead?"

"Right."

"What about heat? Light? What do we know about its sight?"

"Well, we're certain of infrared but the others we've taken precautions for regardless. Trust me Jones... We're taking all of the necessary measures. We've even got higher velocity weapons just in case these don't pierce the flesh."

"Where are the weapons set up?"

"Around the entire perimeter. We've hidden them in various locations along with a few spot cameras."

"Excellent, and from what position are we monitoring?"

"A mile down the road."

"A mile?" Jones raised a brow, ready to chuckle. They really were cautious about this thing. He could feel the excitment rising in him. He was suddenly anxious to conquer it.

"We're not too eager to give him any trophies..." the shorter man declared.

"When do we expect this to all go down?" he smiled.

The other man looked out the window and through the woods illuminated in the morning light. "Tonight by the latest."

He nodded. "Good..." he then looked down at his watch, looking a bit displeased. "Well... give me an update every hour. I've got to run. The other man looked confused, Jones explaining. " ...Meeting I'm already 10 minutes late for and an hour away from courtesy of this detour."

Corriano smirked.

"Rest assured Jones. We've got this thing..."

The other man laughed. "You bring this thing back alive... and we're talking about that raise."

Corriano nodded, amused. "My papers will be on your desk come tomorrow morning. Keep a pen handy. I'll be looking forward to your signature..."

"Oh I will.." Jones nodded as he headed back down to the black car.

* * *

The room was cold, and the young man seated on the plush and surprisingly stark chair shifted once more, tugging on the lapels of his dark jacket, wishing there was a button in the room specifically labelled summer. 

It had been damn warm outside in the early morning and would be pretty hot out in another hour or so. Someone had gotten a little trigger happy with the thermostat, he concluded, rubbing his arms as he thought about how much he hated the cold.

He looked down at his watch.

He had been waiting for almost an hour with little assurance that the man was even going to show.

It wasn't like there was much left for him to keep himself occupied with either. There weren't any windows, magazines or even a television. Just the desk and large, empty expensive chair against it before him.

Where the hell was this man?

He refrained from glancing at his watch again, instead sighing and leaning back in his chair. What could this man possibly know that he didn't about the events that took place in Los Angeles 1997. Hell, he had been there, back in the days when he'd rode in silver copters and unmarked cars with important agents, Keyes being the last.

He could almost feel the scorching heat and he sifted a hand through short brown locks. There was nothing anyone could tell him about the horrific crime scenes he had investigated in the back alleys and abandoned warehouses of the city's most dangerous hot spots. He may not have confronted the killer, but he had seen.

The mutilated bodies, the blood, the destruction...

He had seen.

He found himself lost in thought for a brief moment as he relived the fresh horror and suspense, something he hadn't done in a while. He almost missed the chase he realized as he thought back to the job he had taken pushing pens. After watching an entire team of elite personnel as well as his boss Keyes viciously murdered by this creature, he hadn't had the confidence to take the case to a new level...

He knew Keyes would have.

He was so caught up that he hadn't even heard the door behind him open.

He was startled by a sudden voice in the quiet and he turned quickly.

"Garber is it?"

The man stood, turning to greet him and extending his hand.

"That's right."

"My name is Joe Goldstine. Call me Jones," he smiled shaking his hand.

The man nodded as Jones motioned for him to sit.

"You'll have to forgive me for being late. Urgent matters beyond my control," he stated, taking a seat behind the polished desk. Garber nodded, waiting for a further explanation.

"I guess you're wondering what we're doing here, aren't you? Or do you have some idea?"

"I do," the man nodded. "I'd like to know more about what you're planning."

"Of course. But before we get started, I'd like you to take a look at this," he stated, pulling a photo from his pocket and thrusting it across the desk.

He watched the man's expression change from curiosity to slight unease.

"... You wanna know what this thing is?" he lowered his gaze to the photo.

Garber swallowed.

"Where did you-... This is nothing like the first one..."

Jones lifted his head.

"Ah... the first one..." he raised his right fist, index pointed as he latched onto the subject immediately. "Let's talk about the first one, shall we?"

* * *

She slept amazingly well despite the situation, leg shifting a little, surprised that the creature was still against her. 

She made a soft sound as she blinked slowly, trying to remember what had happened and where she was.

Her right hand curled a little against the tough skin of the creature's partially exposed torso. She hadn't really taken note of the fish-net layer that clung to him beneath the armor. She moved her hand up a little, looking up to see that while his mask was set aside, he was turned away, eyes closed. There was an odd piece of jewelry hanging from his neck. Her hand crept up toward it nervously as she took a closer look.

Various bones decorated the line that was partially entwined with his fish-net suit. Teeth, small skulls and other trinkets were strung onto it. She picked up the small skull in the center, curiously turning it this way and that before setting it back down gently. She looked up at him once more, noting that he was still sleeping.

She glanced down past the creature's hard stomach and over at the stuff hanging from around his waist that she hadn't noticed before. Something on his right hip shone in the strip of afternoon light that came through the foliage.

Ever so carefully, her hand slid toward it and she held her breath as she touched it tentatively. It was thin, sharp and surprisingly light as she grasped it a little and moved it into the light. She was debating on whether or not it was a dagger when a hand closed over hers quickly. She gasped, gaze shooting up toward the creature who was turned toward her.

He actually looked kinda tired and agitated and she regret waking him.

She swallowed, heart nearly skipping a beat as he roughly flung her hand away with a grunt. He sighed deep before turning away from her.

Finding herself now wide-awake with little to do, she slowly backed off of him and crawled out of his camp.

* * *

After answering nature's fright-induced call, she turned back toward the camp, curious as to why the sound of running water was so close. She followed a small path of grass around the thick foliage and came to a rocky clearing. The rocks gradually descended on wide enough planes that could pass for steps. At the bottom she could see the pool of clear fresh-water rippling in the summer sun. 

A particularly warm breeze ruffled the plants around her.

She looked down at it cautiously for a moment. She had never been this far back through the wilderness behind her house to even know it existed. She climbed down slowly and carefully, pausing at the step just above the inviting water.

It was quite beautiful actually, she noted as the sun beat down upon her. She sifted a hand through her dark hair as she knelt before it, right hand reaching out and testing the temperature of the water. It was a little cool, but inviting all the same. She looked down at her clothing and then up at the water before her. What harm would it do to take a dip.

Her gaze flicked back in the direction of K'tch's camp. He was apparently still resting.

Gingerly, she peeled off her dark top, sneakers and jeans following suit. Upon removing her jeans she noticed something small, flat and semi-malleable tucked into her right pocket. A smile slowly spread across her face as she pulled out the pass-card to her uncle's facility she'd thought she'd lost nearly a month ago. A little roll of something else was tucked farther into the pocket and she grasped the paper, pulling out a fifty.

Oh... that's where that went.  
Smiling, she tucked both things safely into the pocket.

She debated whether or not she should take off her bare essentials before deciding against it.

She dipped her right foot into the water again to test it once more before sitting along the edge, swinging both legs over into it. It was decided the moment she did that it felt good against her hot skin. She peered down into the water before concluding it was okay to move farther into it.

It gradually inched its way up her skin before finally stopping at her waist. She breathed a sigh of relief, looking over at where it spilled down over the rocks from the opposite side. Her bliss was short-lived as she heard a slight rustle behind her. She turned quickly to see K'tch crouched over the edge, head cocked, staring.

She frowned.

"Ok... show's over..." she muttered as she went to dress again. He stood as she approached, watching her every move. She looked over at him as she picked up her clothes. He stared silently. A mandible twitched and she found her face blushing. "...Do you MIND?" she asked loudly.

He grunted.

Of course. He didn't need her disappearing on him while she was still useful. She was going to help him whether she wanted to or not.

She turned away from him, glancing back after slipping her pants on. He was still watching her. She shook her head.

"God... find somethin' better to do..." she said through her teeth. He paid her comment no attention.

What was her problem anyway.

So paranoid and shy. ...Like she had anything he wanted or cared to see...

Humans...

After she was fully dressed she turned to face him, ready.

"I need to go back by my house..." she announced. He looked down in the direction of her home, taking a moment to comprehend. Her language wasn't so bad when she spoke slow.

He shook his head.

"Why the hell not?" she inquired.

He grunted.

"Hey, I said I need to go back to my house!" she frowned, raising her voice. He growled.

"Why..."

She swallowed, nerves standing on end every time she heard his voice.

"Because I'm hungry and want a real shower..."

He looked back, seeming to consider it. He had an agenda and going back to her house wasn't part of it.

"Eat..." he pointed in a direction away from her house.

Had he been down that way? There was a restaurant about a mile down the road in that direction; a burger joint that was prelude to the city. Her eyes narrowed. Fine, they would play it his way.

"After that, I'm getting my shower and then calling someone to clean my house..."

He made a noise of indignation.

Whatever...

* * *

He was relieved by the thought that he would not be carrying her this time, instead, opting to walk slower so that she wouldn't need a break. 

Sure enough it worked as they reached the restaurant. She paused across the street with him before turning and looking back. "Wait..." she said. "Wait here... I'll be right back."

He said nothing as he crouched in the foliage, activating his camoflauge as she turned to cross the street.

There was no line to wait in. There never was at this place and she placed her order quickly, ordering two bottles of water and a couple of burgers and fries.

Perhaps that was enough.

The young male cashier smiled as he reached back to retrieve her order. Her gaze zoomed in on what appeared to be a gun on his hip and her eyes narrowed.

"What do you need a gun for?" she questioned suspiciously.

The man smiled. "Because I'm on garbage duty this week. Didn't you hear? I'm the replacement for the guy who got mauled by a bear here last week. Poor fella stumbled upon it while it was going through the trash. I just got the papers cleared to own it... not takin' any chances after what happened to him..."

She nodded. Bears eh? Lucky she hadn't run into any herself out here. She produced the necessary amount, handing the bill to the man.

He was gentle and polite, thanking her as he handed her the bag. Without a second thought, she headed for the door.

The harsh heat immediately greeted her as she stepped out onto the road again. She walked over to where she had left K'tch, surprised when she didn't see him.

She turned, looking back at the restaurant. Surely he hadn't followed her.

So where the hell was he?

She looked back at the seemingly empty spot, about to take off in another direction when his form crept out of the camoflauge. She screamed quickly, nearly dropping the bag.

"God... what the hell..?" she took a moment to catch her breath before walking a few yards into the woods and to a more grassy clear space before sitting. "Next time tell me when you're about to pull an invisible man trick"  
She sat the giant bag before her, about to open it when it was taken from her. She looked up at the creature crouching in front of her surprised.

"...Well excuse _me_..." she sneered as he went through the bag, unwrapping things and examining them. He tossed a bottle of water in her direction, a burger and fries. That was all a human female would require for at least a few hours. He on the other hand, kept the other four burgers, discarding the bread and consuming the beef until all four were gone. She watched amazed as he consumed them in only two minutes time. He drank the entire contents of the bottle of water before testing the bag again. Looking into the package at the fries proved to be fruitless as he tried a few, deciding they were okay things, but nothing he wanted. He handed the abused bag back to her.

Noting that he was finished, she got up and headed back toward her home, still chewing as she put her water in the bag.

Something shuffled from the right and they both turned quickly to see the cashier from the restaurant heading toward the woman. Her eyes widened.

"Ma'am... You forgot your chan-" the man stopped dead in his tracks as his attention was drawn toward the tall creature standing opposite her.

K'tch drew a weapon quickly, the woman standing in shock as she watched the scene play out.

"K'tch..."

The man drew his gun quickly at the creature's threat.

"What the hell are you?" he questioned, eyes wide.

"Sir, don't!" she cried, distracting him. Before she knew what had happened, the predator had struck lightening fast, throwing a small disk that returned as if commanded.

The young man fell to his knees, craddling the fist that was now missing four fingers, his gun lying in the grass. Sharon put her hand up to her mouth, eyes wide in shock as the man growled in agony.

It had all happened so fast.

K'tch walked slowly, dangerously as he circled his newly impaired prey almost tauntingly. He clenched his right fist, a claw-like weapon protruding from the device attached to his arm.

"No don't..." Sharon's voice whimpered as she watched in horror as the creature drew his weapon of choice. Her voice did not matter. What mattered was the honor that would come with bringing back this man's head.

"K'tch, please...!" she shouted from the side.

Ignoring her, he thrust his weapon into the man's chest, growling with a certain sort of satisfaction as the creature writhed beneath him...

...where he belonged.

In a matter of heart-stopping moments, the young man had died, falling limp against the predator.

He wasted no time from there.

He momentarily forgot about his female companion as he set to work skinning the man.

She had to force down the bile rising from her throat as she heard the sickening sound of vertebrae being ripped from maleable flesh. By that point she just wanted it to be over.

She just needed it to be over. She collapsed a few yards away, huddled into a ball, head in her hands for what felt like forever as she waited, trembling. When all noise had ceased she turned nervously toward the spot the predator had been sitting. Her eyes widened as she watched him carve the skin off of the bloody skull.

"Oh my god..." she could hold her meal no longer, body trembling as reverse peristalsis took hold and her stomach clenched. The entire meal ended up a puddle of premature chyme and water in the grass before her.

She took a deep breath, turning to stand on watery legs.

He had just murdered someone.

She swallowed. This had to be a nightmare. It just had to be. She shook her head, reality hitting her.

'Well where d'you think those bones came from?' she questioned herself, thinking back to all of the little bones she'd seen him wearing.

Unreal...

She couldn't remember how they had gotten back his camp for she didn't remember walking. All she knew was that the tall thing beside her was carrying a man's skull; a man she'd talked to just moments before he'd been murdered. The sun was beginning to set again and she sighed as K'tch washed the skull off in the water.

There was no way she would be going in there again.

She shook her head, sitting dazedly up on the rocks as she waited, mind racing. Should she call the cops? She had no phone on her...

Run? He was faster.

God... She swallowed down her fear. He had killed someone... he had actually killed someone...

He emerged from the water a few minutes later with a clean skull, admiring his handiwork.

Perfect. Absolutely perfect. This would make a wonderful souvenir for the proteges.  
There was no doubt in his mind.

He walked up to the woman who was hugging her knees, looking at him with a sort of bewilderment. He suddenly remembered his agreement. After securing the skull to an attachment on his back he turned to the frightened woman, motioning for her to get up. She got up slowly, swallowing down her fear.

"Where are we going...?" her voice trembled.

He looked back at her, securing his mask before pointing back toward her house.

"My home?" she questioned.

He nodded. She breathed nervously. At least she was guaranteed her own space. There was no way she'd be sleeping anywhere near him. The skull on his back was a constant reminder of just what he was capable of...


	5. Capture

The young man perched at the controls raised a brow at the man leaning over him. Agent Corriano had been staring at the monitor for the last two hours, watching, waiting as the sun set and the visuals gradually switched. Night vision as well as all other methods had been activated and still there was nothing. 

"Are you sure he's coming back?" the young man asked curiously as he turned in the swivel chair.

"He'll be back... He's got to... Its part of a pattern."

The young man nodded, chewing on the end of the pen in his right hand.

"What's the procedure following capture?"

Corriano glanced down at the young tech. "We've got a special van half a mile from us down the road. The research and medical team are standing by to make sure we keep it alive."

"It? You mean its not a he?"

The older man chuckled. "We're not quite sure what it is and we wont know for sure until we get it. I think its a he."

The young man shook his head. "Is that instinct talkin'?"

"You betcha..."

Garber stood stunned as he and Jones walked up to the special case containing the remains of the thing he had seen in the photograph.

They had gotten the call just a little while ago and he had been anxious to see if it was for real.

He swallowed.

If Keyes were around... he'd be just ecstatic at this point.

He turned to the man standing next to him.

"Jones... what the hell is this thing?"

The older man smirked.

"Well according to sources, it was quarantined up at Weyland research facilities as part of some experimental project and escaped."

"And?"

"And the thing we're lookin' for probably killed it."

"Impressive..."

"Within the past hour we've already linked the thing on the loose to at least 2 murders. The first murder, some guy upstate was hunting and apparently ran into it the night before. A ranger scouting for tracks when he didn't return stumbled upon the body. His head and spine had been taken... About two hours ago we got a call from a restaurant close to the house where we found this thing. Some burger boy found his co-worker's body in the woods after he went to pursue a woman who'd forgotten her change... We think it was Sharon.."

Garber looked to the man seriously.

"It's happening all over again..."

"Naturally..." Jones smiled. "What's got me is why she's still alive."

"Does she know somethin' we don't?" the former agent suggested.

"Maybe..."

Garber turned away from the carcass in the case, shaking his head. "Damn-it... if we'd only had another shot at him. We almost had it back then..."

"Heh..." Jones smirked. "Almost... But we've got better weapons now..." he declared.

The other man shook his head.

A familiar continental ringtone sounded and Jones turned for a moment, reaching into his pocket before pulling out his cell and flipping it open.

"Yes, Any changes?"

The familiar voice on the other end was just dripping with amusement.  
"Get down here quickly. We've got figures approaching the house on the monitor."

"Sure thing. Nobody acts without my consent, got it? Call me if anything happens..." he flipped the device shut, turning back to his guest. "You might just get your shot afterall... Now, let's go bag this thing..."

* * *

By the time night had fallen, the young woman realized that she had to depend on the creature quickly sifting through the foliage to lead the way. Once she had been startled by losing him, but seeing as he was able to find her in the pitch darkness, it was a slight consolation.

He was almost silent as they crept closer to her house, so silent that it was pretty much unnerving.

K'tch moved like a hunter; cautious and observant. There was an heir of authority around him as he lead them safely to their destination, creeping around with a strangely superior animal instinct.

Like he was born to hunt.

Reaching the porch-lights she was somewhat relieved, finding something her eyes could actually rest upon instead of holding on blindly to K'tch in the dark, fearing something would jump out at them every second of the way.

Before her eyes landed on the front door, she found herself yanked in front of it, the predator waiting for her to act. She swallowed as she knelt finding the key under the doormat. She looked back at the silent figure with a new-found fear as she put the key in the lock and let them in.

Once inside, she immediately flicked on the light in the livingroom before collapsing into one of the plush beige couches to the right. K'tch climbed onto the nearest one and stood, surveying the space.

Sharon raised a brow as her eyes travelled down to the marks his claw-like feet made into her nice upholstery. She suppressed the urge to yell at him to sit and stop soiling her furniture, eyes glancing back at the skull on his back before deciding against it.

She turned onto her side, hugging the soft furniture in appreciation before slowly pulling herself away from it.

It was about time for that shower now...

She said nothing to him as he jumped off the furniture, instead, turning to go back upstairs. She briefly glanced in the direction of the dark kitchen before deciding showering was the first priority.

K'tch paid her no mind as she went upstairs to get what he translated as happy, wet, and possibly clean.

Humans must love water if they subjected themselves to it so frequently. He on the other hand, had no preference.

The sound of water draining echoed through the ceiling and his gaze slowly shot upward as he scanned it, noting the liquid flowing through the pipes. She was apparently draining a large curved mass up there.

Nothing he needed to worry about.

In only a few moments time, the sound of water running through the pipes became prominent. He found himself creeping through the rest of the house, around the stairs and into the other rooms he hadn't been in the mood to search through the last time he was here. A lot of them were storage it would appear.

One seemed to be a lot of cloth, the length of the kind he'd seen on the pliable flat surfaces this species slept on. There were many different ones stacked.

Nothing he wanted.

He'd spent nearly half an hour investigating each one, unrolling it and testing their texture and quality.

The smoothest ones were an anomaly. They had to be purely decoration for he saw no purpose they could serve. They ripped too easily as well. After finding nothing else interesting there, he peered into another cabinet.

* * *

Sharon sighed in utter bliss as the shower steamed. God that felt good. She revelled in the smell of clean sudsing soap and herbal shampoo, rubbing some more into her dark shoulder-length locks.

She refused to the look at the time after she emerged, knowing she'd spent longer than the usual twenty.

Last night and the day had gone by way too fast. If she closed her eyes as she wrapped her bathrobe about her, she could imagine it was just a dream.

Or rather a nightmare.

She'd never run into the thing that was downstairs doing God-knows-what.  
She'd never stepped foot outside her house after doing the dishes.

Oh no.

And she sure as hell hadn't witnessed a murder. Nope. There was no way. That was something she'd seen in a movie for sure.

She shook her head as she stepped into her room, flipping on the television perched upon her dresser as she opened one of the drawers to find something nice and clean to wear. Just in time for the 10 o'clock news.

She was in no mood to be picky this time, grabbing the first set of underclothes and slipping into them quickly, feeling quite vulnerable. She paused as she grabbed a dark pair of old camouflauge pants from another drawer, eyes glued to the reporter, listening.

The police had recovered a body nearly two miles away. She swallowed, recognizing the area.

It was that poor cashier.

She shook her head as she grabbed the pass-card she'd found in her jeans from the dresser and slid it into her side pocket.

_...County police are almost certain that the same culprit is responsible for the death of a man from the area just several miles from here who had been out hunting. He too was found stabbed and mutilated..._

Oh my god... He'd killed someone else...

The young woman's eyes widened as she slowly slipped a dark wife-beater on. She walked back slowly, grasping the bed-post for support as she grabbed some short dark boots from near the end. She would be prepared to trudge through woods again this time if need be.

She looked at the open door to her bedroom, trying her best to calm her nerves as she looked at the thing already standing in the doorway watching. Her gaze flicked between both the television and the predator twice before stopping back at him.

"Did you... did you kill that man as well?" she questioned, pointing to the screen.

He grunted.

What did she want him to say? Oh no, it was an accident?

Ha...

He nodded, expression masked.

"Then where the hell is his skull? You didn't want it or something?"

He shook his head, remembering how damaged it was.

The woman shook her head, fighting back tears.

"So you killed him... for no reason eh? Was he a bad person?"

He made an unintelligible sound, pausing a moment further before walking away. Sharon jumped to her feet, following him back downstairs.

"Answer me, damn-it! Why did you kill him!" she yelled, racing around to confront him at the bottom of the stairs.

He paused, looking down at the emotional creature. Why did she give a shit... he wasn't of any relation to her.

"Why are you here? Are you just here to kill people?" she frowned. He shook his head, to her relief.

That wasn't his mission. No, not this time. He came for the thing that was probably still lying in the kitchen, to destroy the place that had been experimenting with it. Trophies were a side-quest all his own, souvenirs he'd promised to a young member of his clan.

"If you're not here to kill people... then what are you here for?" He pointed in the direction of the kitchen. "You were here for that creature?"

He nodded.

She paused for a moment before looking back up at him. "If you were here for that thing, then why did you kill two people?"

He turned away from her, looking around the room for a moment. "Hey, I'm talking to you!" she shouted angrily, following him as he walked over to the cabinet opposite the living room. "Don't act like you can't hear me..." she persisted as he sifted through the contents, reaching in and picking up a silver figure mounted on polished wood.

He'd seen things like this given to others after strenuous activity. A trophy he had concluded after much observation. He then unhooked the skull from his back, holding one in each hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked quickly.

He growled. Someone needed to tell this female to fall back before he snapped.

He motioned to the figures in each hand.

She frowned. "What?"

He motioned toward one and then the other.

"Just say it. I know you speak English"  
He set the skull back on his back, dropping the trophy as he walked up to her slowly, stopping just several inches from her. She looked straight up into the masked face, heart racing.

"Killed... for trophy..." he ground out.

She scoffed, refusing to believe her ears.

What?

"Are you... Are you telling me you killed them for sport?" she raised a brow, voice trembling in anger.

He nodded slowly.

She shook her head.

"You killed those innocent people... just for sport..." her bottom lip trembled. It was too much. How could anyone be so cruel...so violent... so... evil... "What are you... the DEVIL..." she sneered up at him.

He would humor himself.

He leaned forward a bit, bending down to her level for just a brief moment.

"Yes..." he purred.

Her reaction was amusing; the raise in temperature, the way her breath hitched. Scaring her was actually kind of fun.

* * *

Agent Corriano could barely keep the smile from his face as he quickly ushered the two men into the monitoring room.

Jones spoke first, introducing Garber even as Corriano checked the weapon at his hip. "What's happening?"

Corriano raced over to the screen.

"They've been in the house for about an hour and a half. The woman took a shower before going back downstairs with the target."

"Everyone in place?"

"Yep."

"Medical team standing by?"

"Yep."

"Weapons ready?"

"Yep."

Jones turned to the door. "What are we waitin' for? Let's go." Corriano motioned for him to wait before reaching into a small trunk in the van and handing each of them a tranquilizer gun. "..Just in case..." he explained, gloved hand adjusting his cap.

* * *

Sharon shook her head as she sat back down upon the couch, K'tch checking out the kitchen.

She was startled by the sudden threatening growl he'd made and she walked around the wall separating the two rooms, flicking on the bright light.

Her eyes immediately went to the spot where the creature he'd killed had been lying, but there was nothing there.

Oh no...

K'tch was already standing hunched, legs parted and arms spread as he crept around, ready to do battle. He looked around the area, switching vision modes and finding nothing. Something was wrong. Who had been here? Who had time to be here?

He growled softly, analyzing every surface to no avail. He knew he had killed that alien; had watched it drop dead from a fatal shot. It couldn't still be roaming around, could it?

Well, the humans had been toiling with it. Perhaps it wasn't so easily beaten.

He crept back to the living room, Sharon hurrying behind him. It wasn't safe. They needed to go.

He grabbed her by the arm roughly, crouching low as they made for the exit.

* * *

"The target's moving... Quick. Activate the defense weapons." Corriano spoke through headphones.

They were getting closer, speeding down the road before the vehicle slowed dramatically and they filed out of the van.

Corriano was the first one on the scene, putting the night-vision helmet down over his eyes and activating all other elements as they crouched over the hill looking down in the distance at the house.

The door flung open and two figures in the distance crept outside.

The predator activated his camoflauge, mystifying the other men who were keeping watch through binoculars from 3 corners.

"Now... hurry, activate weapon one," Corriano spoke softly.

The predator was wary as he held the woman who was stumbling behind him. He heard a noise from behind him adjacent and he quickly thrust the woman onto the ground in front of him. He threw himself over her as a shield just in time to hear something wiz through the air. She was shaking beneath him and he steadied himself to keep from resting his weight over her completely.

He turned back a little, the gun on his shoulder mirroring the movement and firing in the direction of the sound, hitting a device that had been hidden all-too-well...

Corriano shot once more before he ducked at the light of the blast from below. "Hurry... activate the other two before he escapes with her!"

The predator could faintly hear the sound of three other small devices rising from out of the grass and positioning and he cursed as he saw his form emerge. He'd just fixed this damn camoflauge.

Who the hell had set a damn trap?

He growled in annoyance, rising off of the woman and then yanking her to her feet once more, watching as she looked around disoriented in the dark. "Kuh-cha?" she questioned quickly.

He heard the same click in the distance and trusted his instincts, yanking the woman out of the way.

God, how many were there?

Corriano grasped his gun protectively, shouting into the microphone. "He's escaping with her... move in! Move in with the S2 prototype tranquilizers! Now!"

The predator could hear footsteps in the distance closing around. He would just have to try to plow his way through them. Tthe gun on his shoulder took aim in every direction in an attempt to keep them at bay. It was no use, he couldn't see anything. They were still far off, but somehow informed of his position.

Cowards... afraid of hand-to-hand combat... He'd rip them to shreds if they came within yards of him.

The woman at his side suddenly cried out, as something sharp grazed her leg and she stumbled before falling to her knees, eyes wide in terror. K'tch's eyes narrowed from behind his mask. Something was really shooting at them.

What the hell was going on?

It didn't matter. She belonged to him until he finished his mission. He picked her up and hoisted her over his other shoulder as she clung to him for balance. He grunted, racing towards the woods.

The sounds of tracks following him became louder.

Something pierced his right thigh and he let forth an animalistic shriek half-growl, falling to one knee and pulling the dart from the flesh. He caught his breath for a moment and turned to face his attacker.

How the hell had they gotten so close to him?

He was vaguely surprised to see the outline of a human coming toward him several yards away, weapon drawn. He kept a hand over the woman on his shoulder as he extended his wrist blade, lunging forward to take this fool's life when he staggered, his vision swimming. His mind wasted no time in connecting the situation to the thing he'd pulled from his leg.

He swung at the figure he could barely see and to his surprise...

...missed.

His eyes widened and he backed up, the man taking the action as fear and moving in closer.

"Put her down..." the man spoke, weapon drawn.

"Kuh-cha!" Sharon shouted from over his shoulder. "He's going to kill you if you don't! Just listen!"

He sneered. Listen? To a human?

Oh, they would see about that.

His head was getting heavy, vision starting to darken in increments even as he lunged forward again, striking and separating flesh from bone this time, the man screaming and falling back defeated, holding his hand over the deep gash in his wrist.

K'tch continued to run, knowing that whatever they had hit him with was starting to take its toll. He went strong for another couple of minutes before collapsing to his knees, Sharon rolling off of him and turning to kneel before him.

"Kuh-cha?" she questioned putting her hands on his shoulders to keep him from falling forward. He reached up quickly, removing the mask that was suddenly smothering him. His breathing was labored in panic and effort as he tried to stand.

Sharon helped the creature to his feet, eyes darting around nervously as she could see nothing in the dark. Despite the fact that his logic was screwed in killing humans for trophies, for some reason she didn't think it wise for anyone to be trying to capture him either, nor did she want them to.

She heard a voice behind her, startling her.

"Okay, Ma'am. Step away from it slowly..." the man warned, gun aimed. She looked back, holding onto the creature illuminated by the searchlights. K'tch was probably biting back raw fury at this moment, for a creature so prideful to actually be cornered.

"Kuh-cha?" she whispered, unsure of who was more threatening at this point.

K'tch pushed her aside slowly as he looked up to face the man.

He arched his back, standing legs parted and arms wide in a gesture of welcome combat as he let forth a viscious growl. The man swallowed, pulling the trigger once.

K'tch growled angrily, pulling the dart from his stomach and throwing it aside. He reached back bitterly before backhanding the man sharply, the blow knocking him several yards back. He didn't get back up.

Sharon wasn't quite sure what to think when the lights from the helicopters shone down over them. K'tch didn't really care as his legs gave out and he found himself on his back, eyes heavily lidded. He couldn't lift his arm to activate his self-destruct no matter how hard he tried.

Damn-it...

His head fell back against the earth as the chemicals began to overpower him.

If he got himself out of this one... there would be hell to pay.

Sharon was kneeling beside him, unsure of what to do as his eyes slowly closed as he fell unconscious.

More footsteps were heard and she turned to see the rest of the unit creeping in around her, a man in a crisp shirt and tie, dark slacks and shiny black shoes among them. He walked straight up to her, extending his hand.

"Hello, Sharon. I'm Jones..." She shook his hand numbly before he walked around her to peer down at the predator.

"So, we finally meet face to face..."


	6. Bearings

The fog was finally beginning to clear when K'tch slowly opened his eyes. His limbs were like sandbags and he suppressed a growl of frustration, instead turning his head a little as his eyes tried to adjust. 

What the hell had happened. Was this a dream? No, it had to be nightmare. He had fallen asleep on the ship and this was all just some sick subconscious joke.

He wouldn't be laughing when he finally awoke, that would be for sure.

He brushed the thought aside almost immediately, hardening his reserve and accepting that this really was reality. It took him all of one minute to realize he was lying on his back. Another minute and he determined that he was pretty much cuffed to a long flat surface. His armor had better still be there... He twitched, affirming that he was still sporting his net suit and loin. He was barred from reaching up to grasp the small necklace he wanted to caress to reassure himself.

His eyes widened when he looked down at his partially bare chest.

Oh no they didn't...

A pincher-like mandible twitched. There would be hell to pay if he didn't get that thing back. Suddenly realizing how flat he was against this table, he came to the conclusion that his new trophy had been confiscated as well.

He sneered, nostrils flaring.

His vision was hampered and it occured to him that his mask was missing.

Naturally.

He looked to his shoulder, realizing with a sudden sense of horror that his gun too was unaccounted for. His eyes darted to his right arm, finding relief. At least he still had his wrist blade.

Regardless, he was stretched out vulnerable along a metal table, weak as hell, no vision, no trophies, no cloaking... no gun...no hostage.  
No clue...

Could it get any damn worse.

And where the hell was his human female? Probably off somewhere with the rest of her kind weaving an elaborate captivity narrative to dazzle them.

He grunted, the action startling the woman in a full white-suit who turned to face him quickly from her corner. His eyes narrowed in an attempt to get a better look at the creature he hadn't noticed until her startled motion.

She was holding something in her hand, something flat and small, other hand grasping a small little stick. The stick came down upon the board, scribbling across the surface.

So she was writing something... Didn't matter what she thought she was doing, her knowledge wouldn't be here for long, he'd make sure of that.

She suddenly walked up to him, eyes curious over her mask.

"So you're awake?" she concluded. There was a rustle from the corner opposite and his eyes immediately darted over the area to note two other human figures sporting something from head to toe.

This was insane. How had he not picked up their presence, their aura, their god-damn scent or somethin'. It must have had to do with whatever they'd drugged him with in order to capture him.

At any rate, there was no way he was just going to sit there and let them prod and poke at him like some helpless little specimen. He wanted out and he wanted his human female back.

The woman taking notes was very close to him now, leaning over him carefully to peer into his eyes, one of the guys in the corner coming closer to protect her if need be.

To his surprise, she smiled.

"So, how are we feeling?"

His eyes widened as he was unsure how to react.

Did she just ask him how he felt?

Lucky these straps were holdin' him. He'd show her how god-damn pissed he was if they weren't.

He grunted in annoyance as she placed a gloved hand on his arm gently.

"I know you might not understand me, but I'm not here to hurt you. I just need measurements is all, alright? Don't be angry with me..."

The male figure on the other side laughed and K'tch sneered at the sound.

"Carla, do you really think it gives a shit at this point? Do you even think it knows what the hell you're saying?"

She shrugged her shoulders.

"Maybe..."

The man raised a brow.

"I doubt it... I doubt it even knows about half the stuff its wearin..."

The woman looked up to him quickly.

"Matt, just what the hell are you trying to say?"

He smirked.

"I seriously think that this is just some creature that goes by instinct that happened across some really good weapons."

She sighed. "So are you tryina tell me you don't think its very smart?"

"Pretty much..."

K'tch cursed whatever power that influenced him that those straps were doing a very good job of holding him down now...or this so-called, Matt... would be a smear on the floor and his skull mounted on a wall.

The woman continued to take measurements, K'tch tolerating her cold gloved hands until they settled over the very definition of his gender.

His eyes widened.

They weren't going there.

He didn't have to explain this, even to himself.

They just weren't going there.

He let loose a viscious growl, everyone in the room jumping back away from him and flattening themselves against the wall in the farthest corner, guards aiming through the door.

There was an uncomfortable silence as everyone waited for someone else to make the first move, Carla taking the responsibility. It would have been deemed safe to approach once more had not K'tch emitted a low dangerous growl.

Carla swallowed.

"Y-Y-know... we just want to take measurements right now, that's all. I promise not to hurt you."  
He rolled his eyes.

Why trust a human's empty promise. He wanted to see how his human hostage was doing. His eyes narrowed upon Carla's and he opened his mouth, startling everyone with the deep voice.

"I want out... or I find a way. Give me my necklace...and Sharon back... Now."

A dull thud from across the room caught the woman's attention and she looked up.

Someone wasn't used to being wrong, she noted, motioning for the other man to help their fainted co-worker. .

* * *

After being questioned for little more than five hours she found herself walking down a long white hall with the man who had shaken her hand back at her house. She squinted at the bright light, eyes adjusting from the rather dim interrogation room.

Her dark clothing in stark contrast with the bright surroundings, she walked a little closer to the man at her side, avoiding the stares of the random personnel clutching their clip-boards and shiny little pens. Some were suited in medical attire, gaze burning into her from over white masks.

She wouldn't be satisfied until she knew that that creature was within their control, demanding that the man that had introduced himself as Jones assure her.

Jones smiled his genuinely archaic smile as he led the young dark-haired woman down the hall. "As you can see, we've gotten everything under control..." he motioned to the guard at each door.

"Are you guys sure you know what you're doing?" she questioned, looking a bit skeptical. Sharon frowned as she surveyed the guards, somehow doubting that they would be enough.

The all-too familiar continental ring-tone sounded for the umpteenth time during her little tour and she frowned as Jones quickly answered, planting her gaze along the tile as their pace slowed. She rolled her eyes as she found herself listening to his obnoxiously calm tone.

Within seconds he was done, flipping the device closed and turning to the quiet woman.

"A few more guards will be joining us. It would appear he's actually conscious," he smiled. He would have to talk to Corriano about making those tranquilizers more potent seeing they hadn't been quite as quick in bringing this thing down as everyone had assumed they would be. As if on cue two guards complete with big guns and threatening stares closed in from God-knows-where, startling her.

She turned to both sides in slight panic as they took a place on either side of them.

Jone's phone suddenly rang again and Sharon paused in mid-step this time, arms folded as she watched him answer it. The conversation was brief once more and before she could start getting impatient, he turned to her.

"Well now, you wont believe this..." he shook his head, slipping the phone back into his pocket.

"W-What?" she asked quickly.

His tone became more serious. "Do you have some special connection to this creature?" he questioned.

The small woman shook her head, brows drawn down. "Good GOD no..."

"Have something that he wants?"

She shook her head once more. "Not to my knowledge..." she raised a brow. "I told you everything I knew. Why?"

Jones sifted a hand through his hair, other hand resting in his pocket.

"Because he asked for you..."


	7. Intentional Pain

Author's IMPORTANT NOTE: (Thanx Mo!) Lol... y'know... I was recalling a scene from the 2nd movie w/ Danny Glover where they chase the predator around Los Angeles.. and I distinctly remember a scene right after he acquires a skull (I believe Jerry's) where he's standing on top of a building and lightening strikes him. I was quite puzzled as to why it didn't kill 'em on the spot. I had assumed it had something to do with his gear seeing as it was never explained. I really wanted to hurt K'tch in this story w/out necessarily shedding blood in this scene, so for the purposes of my story, they FOUND a way to use electricity... I haven't figured out biologically how.. but whatever I have them put to K'tch... translates it into pain which I suppose according to the facts, would not normally occur. They'll probably do somethin' else to him at this point in the story because they've already taken samples while he was unconscious, which I wanted the audience to assume. So, whatever they do/test, they know what effect they should have. Heh heh heh... So ehh... I don't wanna spoil it for whoever hasn't read this chapter... but 'Mo' was kind enough to inform me and to avoid disregarding fact, that's my explanation. So, ummm... do read & review please.Warning: Chapter rated for language, a.k.a fightin' words... heh heh heh.. now.. back to the story: 

K'tch lay there useless and weak and more than just a little angry. He was well aware of the fact that if he didn't get the opportunity to report to his party, they would assume his demise and take the hunting ship back to the mother. Not that he couldn't fend for himself out here, but why go through the trouble of making contact after they had already gone. Why not just give them a signal so they didn't decide to leave him.

He lifted a mandible and tsked.

Well, figuring out a way to give a signal while strapped to a table was definitely proving to be a challenge. His eyes narrowed as he squinted, trying to get a general visual of the milieu.

There were things hanging over his eagle-spread form, but he couldn't tell what they were if his life depended on it. He sighed, the woman taking precious measurements, pausing to look up at him.

"I already informed them that you wanted Sharon... Did you want something else?" she raised a nervous brow.

He refused to answer the creature, knowing full well that she would not grant him his freedom. Instead he closed his eyes. What felt like minutes later and he was startled by the sound of a familiar voice.

"Kuh-cha?" she questioned. His eyes snapped open and he turned toward the voice, acknowledging her with his gaze.

It was about time.

She watched him cautiously. "You actually asked for me, specifically?" she raised a brow. "Y'mean you remembered my name?"

His eyes narrowed.

Did she think he was stupid or somethin? Who the hell could forget a name as strange as Sharon... He began to sit up and immediately realized his restraints, collapsing back down and growling.

The young woman immediately began looking for a way to unbind the creature, fiddling with the buttons on the side of the restraints, the staff backed into the corners of the room, ready to bolt at a moments notice as the guards surrounded the room, guns ready.

"Are you sure you want to do that?"

Sharon spun around quickly at the sound of Jone's smooth voice. She felt herself slowly untense as she turned to the decidedly handsome but annoying face.

"But you guys have this under control, right?" She leaned closer to the man, lowering her voice. "I thought the place was surrounded..."

"It is...Just talk to him..." Jones advised as he backed up a foot, hand resting over the small gun on his hip. "We dont want him running loose."

The young woman swallowed as she leaned over the table.

Fair enough.

"Kuh-cha?" she said softly. "Why did you ask for me?"

He sighed heavily, unwilling to speak with the others in the room. "All out..Sharon... stay..," the obviously not human vocals sounded.

Jones eyes widened for a moment as he processed the request before backing away slowly and signalling for the staff to fall back. He was not leaving the room. "You can say what you need to say with us here..." he declared.

K'tch's expression darkened. So here was the problem...

It was already decided.

Oh yes... this asshole would be the first to go once he escaped. He clicked to himself for a moment before looking back up at the woman. A series of clicks and unintelligible noises followed whereupon she raised a brow.

"...What?"

"He glanced down at his restraints before focussing back on her. His eyes narrowed. He knew he had a chance of removing the restraints by force if he extended his wrist blades, but why waste energy he probably needed. He might as well see if she could accomplish something before he started running off reserves. The tranquilizers were finally starting to wear a little more.

"I can't..." she declared. "Besides... how do I know what you'll do..." she lowered her voice.

He made a noise that could only be interpreted as a chuckle.  
She pressed her lips together in anger.

"If I don't know what you're trying to do, then I'll not help you...You don't own me..."

He shook his head and she frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

He motioned for her to come closer and she leaned in cautiously, curious as to what he needed to say. "You... are mine... and you will help me..."

With that, he turned away from her as he began plotting his escape, leaving her dumbfounded.

* * *

He didn't say a word to anyone else for the rest of the week as he merely observed, watching and waiting. The taller male creature by the name of Jones had come by twice only to rub it in his face that he was in charge. He had brought the female along with him the second night.

K'tch sneered. He wasn't fooling anyone.

He knew that this Jones was hoping that Sharon could get some information out of him.

Like that would happen... His gaze focussed in on the hand that the male had carefully placed upon Sharon's shoulder and his eyes narrowed.

Since when had Jones earned Sharon's trust to the point that he was allowed to touch her.

His right mandible lifted and he emitted a clicking noise followed by a predatory growl, Jone's hand refusing to budge from her shoulder. He would have warned him verbally had he not been too furious to form words.

She belonged to him. She was his at the moment and he didn't want anyone trying to court her without his knowledge.

If he so much as nuzzled her, he'd be out of his restraints in an instant.

He needed to start planning in order to calm himself. Judging from his character, this man was bound to do something stupid any day; something that would convince his female to help him.

He needed only wait. He would strike as soon as he memorized the last pattern.

Everything had been going according to plan, that is until the sixth night.

Jones had entered the room with one other male, both unattended and the guards were nowhere in sight. The rest of the room was dark save for the one lone light that was beaming down over his face.

What was this all about, he wondered.

Why was there no one else around? He could still make out their forms standing before him.

The other man was holding something, something attached to a large box in the corner. Wires he assumed as he approached. He was almost curious as to what they were planning.

He growled softly, Jones smiling his dark smile.

"Y'know there's a bit of a problem here, you realize."

K'tch watched him silently. What would that be...

"The devices we've been able to take from you seem to be run by a password. Especially the mask. Its something we can't crack. So tell me..." he cocked his head as Garber leaned forward, sticking a few strange moist oval-shaped contraptions to him.

Something was very wrong here.

Jones suddenly pulled a small device from his pocket and put it up to his face. It was displaying numbers... The predator's eyes widened. They were numbers in his native language.

What the hell? They had deciphered something?

"... Tell me," Jones persisted. "Which one of these symbols... in what order is the password?"

An angry click was his answer as the creature turned away from him.

Jones was not one to be ignored and his prisoner was about to find out why.

"Y'know..." he turned away, signalling to the other man who began walking toward the box in the corner. "You've killed two innocents and two of my best agents. That's cause enough for me to want to cut you open myself.. But I've... got something more interesting in mind. Much more interesting," his expression darkened.

K'tch's eyes narrowed. Did he really?

It was only natural to conclude that he would make it out of here, get to the ship, and finish polishing a newly acquired Jone's skull. His would more than make-up for the one that had been taken.  
"I'm going to ask you one more time what the password is. You can either tell me, or suffer. It's your choice," Jones declared.  
K'tch grunted, refusing to speak to him. He wouldn't even honor this man by speaking his language to him.

"Fine. We'll play it your way. You'll start seeing things my way soon enough. You're not in charge down here. Garber?" he smiled. The man standing off to the side pressed a button.

K'tch's eyes widened, the first shock nearly blinded him and he let loose a terrible roar of protest as pain coursed through his entire body. It stopped abruptly, leaving him confused.

That wasnt supposed to happen...

"Tell me what this means..." the man in the suit held the device up before him, flashing the numbers at him.

Once more K'tch refused. He'd rather die than offer help to this moron. Did he really think that he could force his tongue? Confident bastard.

He was terribly wrong.

The blinding pain interrupted his thoughts. All four mandibles spread as he bit back a cry.

His breathing was quick and his body trembled in the restraints. Garber suddenly walked up to him and then peered down into the gold eyes.

"We're not kidding. Tell us the god-damn password, or I raise the voltage, fucker..."

K'tch coughed in the process of catching his breath. He swallowed. So poor Garber was getting pissed now. Well that made two of them.

Jones shook his head.

"Do you want to go back home?" he asked circling the table. "Want all of this to just be a nightmare? Then tell us the damn password."

There was a long moment of silence before Garber silently walked back over to the controls, moving a lever before pushing the button again.

This time the predator screamed long and loud, body jerking in his restraints before the current was once again interrupted.

Garber walked back over to him, smiling darkly.

K'tch realized that the man wasn't afraid of him. Knowing himself that one of his kind had butchered his boss, he realized that the man wasn't the least bit frightened of him. He really needed to be at this point.

Garber cocked his head as he peered down at him.

It was time for plan B.

He pulled a small walkie-talkie off of the clip on his right hip, pressing a small button and speaking into the receiver.

"We're ready for her... "

K'tch was still catching his breath, breathing finally beginning to calm when the door opened once again and Sharon was pushed inside, the door slamming behind her. He didn't have to see the look of fear on her face, he could already sense it.

Clearly she had not seen her part in any of this.

"Hey, just what the hell are you trying to do to me!" she demanded, turning to them. Jones walked over to her calmly, right hand coming up to caress one soft cheek.

"Relax..." he whispered. "We're on stage now..."

She shook her head, raising a brow in confusion before the man leaned closer, mouth a hair's breadth from her ear.

"Do a little acting for me," he whispered.

"Why? What are we doing!" she whispered back harshly, unsure of why they were even whispering.

"I have a hunch..." he stated. "Just work with me, and then you'll be free to leave."

"A hunch?"

"Yes... Just work with me..." Jones then turned to the other man. "Garber, I need you to guard the first entrance."

The man nodded, swiftly heading for the exit, refusing to look back as the door locked.

Jones walked them over to stand beside the creature, holding Sharon gently by the chin and turning her gaze back towards him when her eyes strayed over to K'tch.

He leaned forward slowly before closing his lips gently over hers, hands coming up to hold her by the shoulders.

The air was thick with tension, K'tch twitching in his binds.

He was touching her. This man was touching his female without his permission.

Disrespectful...

He let loose a warning growl.

Jones pulled away from the kiss, wrapping his arms around the young woman and embracing her, hand sifting through her dark hair slowly. All the while he kept his eyes on the creature bound to the table, searching him for a reaction. He briefly glanced down at the woman in his arms.  
She cleared her throat, mind spinning from the comfortable contact.

"What was that for?" she barely whispered, brows drawn down half-offended.

"Shhh..." he hushed her as he rubbed her back. She rolled her eyes. They could've found another way to look for a weakness in K'tch without using her.

Men...

There was something distinctly primal in the way they interacted. K'tch and Jones were locked in a gaze, tension smothering as they simply watched eachother.

K'tch's eyes slowly narrowed and for the first time during his interrogation, he spoke.

"She's mine..."

Jones smiled, shaking his head as Sharon's eyes widened.

"No, she isn't yours. You have nothing. You are nothing but a decidedly hideous and very violent freak of nature... And she'll never willingly help you...Not after seeing the people you've murdered"  
Was that the best he could do?

To his surprise, K'tch laughed a very dark menacing laugh, mandibles twitching.

* * *

The dark-haired woman was furious after they'd exited the room. Where did they get off thinking they could just use her. 

"You've gone too far... You're trying to torture him? Tempt him? What the hell is wrong with you!"

"Tactics...It's something we can use to our advantage, Sharon. Think about it..."

Her brows drew down suddenly.

They had promised to destroy their data once it was understood, not duplicate it. That was the deal they'd made.

"Just what the hell are you trying to say?"

He would be tactful as he adjusted his tie, polished shoes gleaming under the stark white light.

"We need your help, Sharon. To find out about his devices."

She shook her head. "That wasn't part of the deal... Oh no... No one said anything about using me."

"But you have no idea of the power he's capable of..."

Her eyes darkened as he continued. "If we could just figure out the password..."

"So you just want to use me to make him talk?"

"Sharon..." Jones shook his head. "You don't seem to realize just what's at stake here."

She raised a brow, making a small noise of indignation. "You don't seem to realize the risk in trying to keep him in a tank and then pissing him off by torturing him and trying to figure out how to use people against him..."

"Sharon, you know this creature's not innocent. I know you've seen the blood and the bodies. None of that is even an inkling of his true power. That's something you haven't seen, the power to wipe out an entire city."

She sighed.

"But would he? That's not what he's here for. He's here for those strange aliens that those fools down in the lab created."

He frowned. Had he told her this?

"So would you rather we wait until he IS here to wipe us out before we try to do something about it?"

"Just what the hell are you doing about it? All I see is tests and no results. You don't know what this is...or that is... what that's for... Just what progress have you guys made in the last week to convince me or anyone that you know what you're doing! God..." she spun quickly, leaving the man more dumbfounded than angry.

Assholes..

All of them...

She stormed down the hall, remembering her pass card, taking a chance and raking it through the censor sharply. She was cleared as it unlocked and she silently praised her good 'ol Uncle Weyland for the master pass card, torn between joy and animosity toward his secrets.

She tried again with the next barrier, passing through door after door before finding herself before the creature who had been unstrapped and was now hunched in the corner, every inch of his body aching for probably the first time in his life.

His gaze shot up to her, a bitter snarl his greeting.

"Oh, just shut-up..." she glared. "They want to dissect your ass and I'd damn well agree if I didn't like what they were trying to do. I never wanted anything to do with your little problem. Just look at you..."

He lay his head back down on the floor wordlessly. Tiredly, but wordlessly.

"Are you just going to sit there and not say anything to me? Or do you only talk to me when you want somethin?"

He grunted, or replied. She couldn't really tell.

"Y'know.. You wouldn't be in this mess if you hunted for survival and not sport... Just what the hell did you think you were doing here? Making game out of anyone you felt like killing? It doesn't work that way, Kuh-cha...Down here, you kill someone for sport, you go to jail. You were in NO way defending yourself."

After a moment he looked up, eyes narrowed and dark before slowly standing. Her gaze rose with him till she had to tilt her head back. "Your... deer and bears... is it defense? No..." he surprisingly countered.

She raised a brow, crossing her arms as she wondered just what he knew about humans. "You hunt people, people whose pain you can know. Bears don't talk. Neither do deer."

He grunted.

"Hunt..." he thought for a minute, searching for the words, "...who can't speak.."

"What?" she shook her head, frowning and unsure of what to say. Was he trying to school her on her own sense of morality?

"No!" she shouted angrily. "You don't hunt people period. Animals are different because they can't talk! What's your excuse? You understand me... why hunt my kind? You can tell we want NOTHING to do with your trophies. Why can't you reason with my kind? You're capable of doing it, just like you're capable of speaking to me. You're not some stupid, mindless creature..."

"You reason with deer..."

"Are you asking me?" she inquired, unsure of how to interpret his flat deep monotone.

She sighed. "We don't because you can't reason with them..."

He nodded, slowly crouching back into his corner. "..You can't reason with me," a mandible twitched.." woman..."

She stood stunned, eyes wide.

"Oh hell no... EXCUSE you... I can't reason with you because I'm a woman! Wait just a damn minute! You're not even from this god-damn planet so don't you dare question my intelligence, Mr. Pond-scum..."

He shook his head, refusing to answer her.

She sighed, a sneer clear across her features. "Y'know what, you need a good sense of loss Kuh-cha. Someone needs to take somethin' important from you like whatever family you've got or whatever the hell means anything to you so you'll know what it feels like. You've killed people who have families... Families that are now devastated with their loss... I hope you really get to know what that feels like. Maybe you wouldn't be so gung-ho about murdering once you knew how it felt to have that life stolen from you." she shook her head in frustration, voice laced with emotion. "God... why do you have to be like that... You're so... stupid! You let them catch you... and all they want to do is cut you up, steal your technology and God knows what they'll do to me when I'm no longer useful..."

K'tch sighed as he watched the woman kneel before him.  
Why was she so upset? They were her idiot species holding him. What did she have to worry about?

Tears were rolling down her cheeks and he scoffed at the display of weakness.

Before he could draw his own conclusions, the woman sniffed, frustration from the ordeal finally breaking her.

He shook his head, longing for his medi-kit to ease the pain of being shocked nearly half to death.

Foolish humans...

She sat beside him in the corner and he made no protest as she pulled her knees up to her chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

He turned his head to watch her.

God, what was he going to do with this female... She was the one who had gotten him into this mess... It was her dumb longing to go back to her home had been the reason for his unbelievable capture. He'd be well on his way back home if it hadn't been for her. What was she doing? And would it ever stop? He needed to think... to go over the patterns he had already memorized in order to plan his escape. He glanced at the woman sitting beside him, wondering why no one had burst in to point a gun at him.

Perhaps they didn't care what he did to her.

At any rate, she finally seemed to be calming as she sniffled again, swallowing and wiping her eyes. He almost had his silence as she stared pensively at the floor. Something she was thinking triggered another tragic thought and she glanced over at him, K'tch returning the gaze.

To his disappointment, her face slowly caved in on itself, eyes clouding with water. Before he could protest, she burst into a sob once again. He refrained from frightening her with an angry voice, instead speaking slowly but calmly. He twitched, wishing there was a button to press to stop that awful sobbing noise that she was making.

He sighed deeply before turning to her.

"Shut.. Up..."

Her eyes widened as she turned to him looking rather taken aback. He reluctantly softened his gaze before adding, "Please..."


	8. Signal

Jones smiled from his position behind the crowd as he watched the larger man in the suit on the podium surrounded by press, microphones jutting toward him to capture his every word and consequently hold him to it. 

"So, you're saying that this killing was definitely random?"

"Why weren't the residents informed of its escape?"

"Are you certain it was the same creature?"

The large man shook his head, waving away their frantic inquiries.

"I've said it before and I'm saying it again. I'm just going by the facts. For now we can only advise everyone to stay indoors until its been captured."

"But where exactly did it come from? How did it get here?"

Gary coughed, glancing briefly at Jones who was half in half out of the afternoon cast shadows. He knew damn well that they'd scooped something up out of Ms. Sharon Weyland's little house out in the woods and was positively itching to know exactly what it was. He had been feigning knowledge for the last half an hour, the pile of bullshit he'd thrown at them beginning to reek.

It was time to go before he soiled his reputation with a contradictory answer.

He was no fool. He knew when to quit.

Jones was a completely different story.

"That's complicated and best answered at tomorrow's conference," he smirked. "Thankyou for your time and I'll see you all tomorrow. Good night..." with that he stepped down, the crowd pressing in, guards using force to keep the reporters at bay.

"But, Chief!" there was a cry from the crowd and he pressed his mouth into a thin line of agitation as he ignored him, making his way over to Jones.

Upon exchanging friendly glances, Jones motioned him over toward the waiting unmarked car, smiling as he took a seat inside beside him.

* * *

He didn't quite know just what it was about this species that was so intriguing, but it seemed to be getting more interesting as the days went by. He'd had only one day left to get a signal out, hampered by the strange thick gloves they'd secured to each hand that night of the interrogation. It was Jone's idea, he knew. The man was taking even more caution after noting his intelligence. He didn't want him fiddling with any of the devices on his arm until he knew exactly what they were for. 

His only hope now would be that sensitive female.

This would require being nicer than usual.

He was extra cautious when Sharon returned the 8th night, this time followed by one guard. His head was finally starting to hurt. He'd put himself into a resting mode to conserve energy seeing as the fools never thought to give him sustenance. Or perhaps just didn't want to.

That would change soon enough.

He was becoming accustomed to Sharon's nightly visits, noting they only allowed her in after they'd finished prodding him all day.

The 8th night she seemed better. She was a little agitated for some reason, sporting a black uniform consisting of a t-shirt, shorts and small boots. It was kind of interesting to see her in something else. The guard followed her inside, standing at attention in front of the door as she left his side to approach.

He couldn't reserve much more energy and he needed to feed. He looked up to her slowly from his position huddled in the corner as she walked up to him, stopping just a foot away before kneeling.

"You look a little odd... You sure you're alright?" she cocked her head as she sat before him. To her surprise, he shook his head. Her eyes widened briefly. "Oh? Well what could possibly be bothering you?"

He extended his left hand a little, palm up, his right hand clenching over it before bringing it up to his face several times in a motion of consumption.

She frowned and he repeated the action.

"You... you're hungry?" she asked, believing that surely she must be wrong. She'd told Jones of what she'd watched him feed on. Surely they hadn't been starving him all week.

K'tch nodded and her brows drew down.

"You mean to tell me they haven't even given you anything to eat for the entire week!"

He nodded again, watching her reaction. Why was she so damn concerned. She needed to just get him some food and then leave him alone.

She shook her head, clearly disappointed...

That darn fool...

"Kuh-cha... just... Y'know.. I'll be right back..."

He had been clearly anticipating her return after their exchange, looking towards the door several times before she returned after little more than half an hour. She was holding two large familiar bags and he purred anxiously as she sat before him once again and opened them. He could smell the meat before she unwrapped it. Carefully, she peeled the bun off of four meat patties and pushed them on the paper toward him. He reached for them gratefully, frustrated when he realized that the secured gloves were hampering his efforts at retrieving it.

Ohhh... this torture would be worse than what they'd done to his friendly electric current...

Fuck...

He didn't have to brood for long as Sharon immediately scooted over to help, picking up one patty and folding it a little before bringing it up to his mouth.

"You owe me..." she stated. "Now open up," she watched him cautiously, briefly worrying about keeping her fingers clear from the sharp teeth.

His mandibles spread and his mouth opened as he awaited his much anticipated meal. She tried not to gawk at the strange interior of his physiognomy, but that so did not look like a mouth...

She helped him with the other four patties before he turned away at the 6th, pointing toward the water.

Despite the fact that being fed was actually helping him to conserve his own energy, he still found the experience odd to say the least. At one point she poured the liquid a bit too fast, some of it dribbling down his neck. She was ready with a napkin almost instantly, dabbing it away gently and he frowned.

She'd just been arguing with him the night before and now she was doing things for him, helping him.

What funny creatures... and what funny gender. He'd seen this before. A female engaged in what appeared to a particularly loud and violent argument with her partner. At one point, the male had even slept in a separate room, which did not seem typical of their arrangement. But in the morning after much wooing, he had fallen back into her graces and by the end of the day he was actually courting her.

She offered him the last piece of meat once more and he shook his head.

"You don't want it?" she inquired. He nodded.

"Why?"

"You... eat..."

Her eyes widened with his allusion to her well-being. "M-me? Oh... ... Oh I've eaten already, but thanks. This belongs to you. Here..." she folded it and brought it to his face. His mandibles opened slowly as he watched her the entire time.

She was proving to be way more useful than initially assumed.

She was about to leave when he made a strange noise that demanded her attention.

"Huh?"

He motioned for her to come back toward him and she did curiously. "Somethin' wrong?" she searched him for clues.

He nodded.

"What?"

He gestured toward his hands.

She hesitated.

"I don't know if I should be taking those off of you..."

He sighed.

"What!" she exclaimed stepping toward him. "What are you trying to do? I can't take these off unless I know... I will on the other hand, take it off if you don't do anything to get us both shot at..."

He sniffed, trying to motion, but unable to convey a meaning.

"Just say it... " she encouraged.

A crease formed between his eyes in agitation.

"Kuh-cha..." she sighed. "I'm really not in the mood to play charades... Just tell me and I promise to see what I can do.."

His gaze travelled back over to his arms. "Sig..nal," he declared. She frowned. "Signal what?"

"Home..."

She raised a brow. What was he going to do, call his buddies?

"Don't call anymore here!" she spoke quickly and he shook his head.

That wasn't his intention.

"They come... when there's no signal"  
She swallowed.

"I see... So, if you don't tell them you're alright, they'll send someone to check?"

He nodded. Well, she didn't need Jones or Garber trying to add anymore specimens to their collection, not after the shit Jones had pulled. She shuddered at the thought of them putting her in a tank with them.

She looked back at the guard who was standing at attention at the door, eyes glued to her.

"Hmmm..." she lifted one arm, fiddling with the contraption for all of ten minutes before it finally unhooked and fell to the ground. He opened the device on his left arm and quickly typed in a few codes. It beeped several times before stopping. That would keep the party off of his back for at least a little while. He typed in a few more codes with a grunt.

That would take care of his missing items...

In the meantime, he could finish plotting his great escape and blow this place to bits once he was out.

He poked at another device and a strange computer map flashed up, making a small projection. She watched it with a certain amount of fascination. It appeared to be the map of a building.

"Kuh-cha... is that... this place?" she lowered her voice and he nodded, gaze zooming in on a small target on one of the levels. Sharon frowned. "I hope that's not a person..." she declared. The guard in the corner narrowed his eyes, speaking softly into his walkie talkie.

K'tch shook his head. It was the last of those strange alien creatures that he needed to get rid of.

Still, the fact that it was being housed in the same building was dangerous. Were these humans really keeping it under control? If they had been in the first place, he wouldn't be there..

He'd get it... he'd get everything all in one shot, then he'd finally be able to go home. He closed the device before looking up at the woman. He was making that strange purring noise as his ungloved right hand reached up, index finger curling towards himself in a 'come hither' motion. She swallowed as she looked up at his slumped figure in the corner.

Closer? How much closer could she get before she was practically in his lap. She frowned and he made the motion again, quicker this time. She crawled toward him another two inches and leaned forward.

To her surprise, he motioned again.

Closer...

She raised a brow.

"Man... what do you want me to do? Diffuse right through you?"

He watched her for a moment longer, becoming impatient and reaching forward, pulling her up against him and invading her personal space. She froze for a moment as he handled her, right hand coming up to hold her head, mouth close to her ear. The guard in the corner shifted and she held a hand up to wave him off.

She swallowed, feeling extremely uncomfortable and unsure of what to do before the predator spoke quietly in her ear.

"Tonight... gtd-jya."

She blinked.

"What?" she whispered.

"Gtd-jya.."

She frowned. "I don't understand... what is that..." she whispered. "What is Gtd-jya?" she repeated.

He released her suddenly, making a motion with his one freed hand and she nodded.

"Oh... I see..." her eyes widened as she kept her voice a whisper.

He nodded and she nearly forgot to breathe. In only a few hours there would be an explosion.

"Are you really going to?" her voice was barely above a whisper.

The predator nodded.

"My God... " Sharon sighed. "Isn't there any other way?" she asked quietly.

To her disappointment he shook his head.

Oh of course there wasn't.

"Why? Because you have to be a secret? You can't bear the thought of someone having a file with your name on it?"

Bingo..

She was beginning to impress him more each passing moment.

She suddenly scooted back to leave and extricate herself from him when he halted her with that strange purring noise, slightly more aggressive as his free hand closed around her wrist.

He shook his head and she frowned.

"What is it now? I can't leave the room?"

Of course. He nodded.

"Okay..." she bit back her nerves, becoming impatient. "Just why not..."

He yanked her back, closer to him.

"Here's... safer..."

She coughed.

"You don't expect me to just lay on the hard floor next to you, do you?"

He was silent and she clenched her teeth. He better not...

"I'm not laying on the floor next to you..." she concluded.

He turned away from her, laying back down onto his side. He would take a nap and reserve some energy before everything went down. He didn't really care what she did at this point, long as she took his advice and didn't leave the room..


	9. Almost Perfect Escape

Author's Note: Chapter rated for graphic violence/gore and s'more fightin' words.. Hats off to Nini for the boost in my LJ. It's actually linked as my 'homepage' under my profile here. Keep the feedback commin' I'm liking this...

* * *

Jones was frowning as he spoke into the small black reciever. 

"She did what?"

The shorter man sitting beside him raised a brow, Jones shaking his head.

"I leave for a few hours and you let her feed him?" there was silence for a moment before his fist thumped against the car seat. "Don't hand me excuses God-damnit! You're security! Just because he talks to her doesn't give her any authority. She's just some dumb woman whose Uncle owns billion dollar industries... Her role in this is rapidly coming to a close. Now watch her and don't let her leave the room... Think you can handle that?" With that he shut the device off, flipping it shut.

Gary watched him with a certain amount of caution. His friend had never liked to indulge in his temper, but everyone knew it was there waiting... lurking behind the soft eyes and the calm low words; words uttered from a mouth that was almost always smirking with some sick amount of amusement.

The shorter man brought his hand up to his hair, sifting through the gradually thinning locks and sighing.

This had to be worth it. The way Jones was exercising precautions about this thing.. it just had to be worth it.

* * *

Night was just beginning to fall when K'tch suddenly awoke. He was surprised to see the small female sitting beside him, watching him. 

He sat up slowly, wondering what she was thinking.

She leaned closer, speaking suddenly.

"You're going to kill everyone... aren't you..." she whispered, arms around herself, expression indifferent.

He was silent.

Why the hell was she asking him that. He would kill whoever armed stood in his way. If that was everyone, so be it. His eyes narrowed as he sensed her worry.

Why was she looking at him like that. Did she really need an answer? Either way he wasn't going to back down on his personal hunt. He lifted a mandible. He owed her, but not a straight answer. Ugh... why was he even bothering.

"May..be..." his deep voice was quiet.

She sighed.

"K'tch... please..." she put a hand up to her head in frustration for a moment, rubbing her sore temples before focussing on him. She leaned a little closer, vioce soft. "I'll... help you break out so you can get the hell off this planet.. I want nothing to do with you afterward. But just please don't kill anyone else... Please? Not everyone wanted to do this to you."

He grunted. The hunt wasn't something to be bargained. Still... she had done enough to help for him to consider bending his will.. a least a bit.

He made a strange gurgling noise, a soft growl she assumed as his gaze fell before returning greet hers. His next choice of words came as a surprise to himself as well as the woman.

He nodded slowly. "Only...Jones...is mine."

Her eyes widened, ears refusing to believe what they'd heard.

"What?" she whispered quickly, turning to him fully.

He nodded once more.

"Just Jones..."

She swallowed, emotions uneasy. It wasn't rocket-science to conclude why the man was on his hit list. He had been the worst, the most taunting, the most cruel to him... torturing and starving him. She'd be tempted to kill someone who took it upon themselves to torture and starve her.

Still... he was trying to be reasonable.

Trying.

She raised a brow. "You promise not to kill anyone else?"

He nodded once more and she bit her bottom lip.

"Why?" she chanced to inquire.

Just to get that strange look off her face.

She who had chosen to aid him. Why not show her his appreciation by sparing a few idiots. That's all. Nothing more. Why else would he make an exception. She wasn't special. She'd just been useful.

"Well?" she inquired. "Why?"

He looked over at the eager woman once more, gaze piercing. He turned his face away from her quickly. He couldn't find the words to describe the exact meaning of his decision.  
...and therefore, was silent.

* * *

The look on Gary's face upon beholding the long-skulled creature's remains was priceless. 

The other man almost wished he'd had a camera.

Gary circled the tank, thick rough fingers sliding carefully over the glass. It was real.

Hell, it was all real. He had all of five minutes to convince his conscious that it wasn't a dream before the flash of the light above took his attention. He looked suddenly to the man who was leaning against the wall.

Something was wrong.

Jones said nothing as he immediately pulled his gun from the holster and cocked it, back against the wall. His heart was beating fiercely as he recognized the alarm.

His thoughts immediately went to K'tch. There was no way he was going to let him escape.

Not with his secrets and not with Sharon. He looked up to his friend, eyes narrowed.

"That's your cue to evacuate. Now... Make sure everyone's leaving on your way out. I'll catch up with you down at the precinct."

"What are you gonna do?" he frowned.

Jones moistened his lips in anticipation. "I'm gonna go catch the bastard."

Gary nodded, a bit shaken. If somethin' inhuman was on the loose down here, he sure as hell didn't wanna stick around to run into it. Robbers, rapists and murderers were something he could handle.

Hell, at least they were human...

Heart rate increasing, he headed for the door.

* * *

There were no words to describe the utter panic in her heart and in her mind. Sharon was positively dumbstruck by how quick the predator was in his ministrations. 

The walkie-talkie lay shattered on the floor, the man crumpled beside it unconscious. ...Alive, but unconscious.

She took a deep breath, looking up at the creature standing beside her as he picked the man up, glancing back at the device he'd thrown into the far corner. It was still beeping in slow intervals and he chuckled at the thought. He'd never been the hunter eager to set quick explosives.

He needed his time...

Sharon was standing beside him in shock, thoughts racing.

K'tch really was serious. He was blowing this place to bits.

The first wave of warnings was spoken over the loud speaker, orders for all personnel to evacuate.

Then the droning alarm sounded. K'tch accessed the 3-dimensional map from the device on his arm... studying it for all of 5 seconds before darting off in another direction, Sharon hurrying to keep up with him.

The entire facility was deserted by the time they arrived at the main door. K'tch stepped aside, waiting for the woman. She glanced at him, understanding his silent request before sliding her pass-card through the security. She sighed in relief when the automatic door parted, hurrying toward the exit.

They were almost there, the exit open and only yards from them. She almost allowed herself to calm when a loud shot rang out.

Time seemed to stand still as her eyes widened, her breath caught in her throat.

Her vision momentarily darkened and she lost her balance, falling to her knees, cradling the wound in her right arm. K'tch's gaze darted over to the man responsible.

He immediately dropped the guard he was holding, accessing his utilities quick. Finally allowed to exercise his greatest pleasure, K'tch wasted no time in activating the camoflauge, Sharon trembling in the corner.

He would take care of this.

It was now Jones's turn to sweat as he made a mad dash for cover, reaching for his gun as he ducked behind a lab table.

He didn't get to indulge in the comfort of the weapon for long as it was knocked out of his grasp and he fell to his knees, clutching his broken hand. His eyes were wide as he scrambled to his feet, turning around to face the predator.

K'tch growled in warning, uncloaking his form just to see his reaction. He spread his arms wide, arching his back and bending his knees as he crept toward him, ready to do some serious irreversible damage.

Oh... he was going to get it. K'tch had no gun and neither did Jones.

That meant closer combat. Something he never lost.

Excellent.

Jones grabbed the shattered remains of a nearby beam that had been damaged during a construction project and swung with all of his might. K'tch stepped up to grasp it with his right hand, holding it firm. He applied pressure just to watch the man struggle to meet it but it was no use. K'tch knew that he was stronger than this man.

After pushing the beam completely out of the way single-handedly, K'tch brought his other hand up, fist connecting with the man's jaw roughly.

Jones was thrown back by the force of the blow, eyes wide in shock as he struggled to put some distance between them.

Sharon shut her eyes tight, refusing to witness what she knew was going to happen.

K'tch stepped up to his weakened prey, towering over the man. Let's see how he liked a little torture. He slashed forward with his dark claws, slicing a thin but painful streak across his torso. The man grunted, clutching at the bleeding skin as he scrambled to get away. K'tch was faster but chose to walk slowly, tauntingly until the agent was backed into a corner. Jones used the only weapon he had left, his hands. He balled his right hand into a fist and swung with all of the strength he could muster, landing a blow on the creature's face.

K'tch chuckled, pausing for a moment.

That was it?  
This Jones wasn't a very powerful human without his guns or other humans to protect him. He found himself disappointed and he reached forward, hand going about his neck as he lifted him to get a better look, the man's eyes wide with shock. He wasn't so special after all.  
That was an insult in and of itself.

Regardless, he had captured him, tortured him..and therefore his head would be most welcome in his collection. He released him, watching him collapse to the floor coughing, straining to get some feeling back into his throat and air into his lungs.

Pity. K'tch extended his wrist blades before he knelt before him once more, pointed tips pressing slowly into the soft flesh of his chest. He laughed a decidedly sinister laugh as Jones struggled.

The difference between this man's torture and his own was simply that Jones wouldn't be walking away from it.

Sharon kept her eyes shut tight, wishing it was over as she tried to apply pressure to the gaping wound in her left arm.

Jones eyes widened further as the blades pressed slowly into his chest. He could feel every inch of their length ripping through skin and muscle, blood pouring from the wound. His breath was caught in his throat for a brief moment of shock, until K'tch pressed further, feeling the blade scrape against the hard sternum.

Feeling a great amount of pleasure, K'tch leaned forward till he was just inches from the man's face, mandibles opening. The deep voice was flat and eerie.

"Diiiieee..." he purred.

He didnt know if it was purely instinct or circumstance when he felt the pulsating of the man's heart against the point that caused the human to cry out. Either way, he wanted the man's vocal submission and terror. Pressing further, he was only too happy to hear it.

Jones screamed long and loud as the blades slowly pushed toward his heart. Within seconds he was dead, Sharon lying on her side, shocked at the pain in her arm.

K'tch breathed a sigh of exhultation, withdrawing the bloody weapon before grabbing the dead man by his dark hair and cutting the head from the body. He didn't have time to polish it up now. He only had about 2 minutes to get his ass outta there before the bomb went off. Keeping this in mind, he roughly attached it to a contraption on his back

The exit was just ahead. He forgot about the guard, unphased by the fact that he would be unable to keep his bargain and spare anyone else.

Instead he ran over to Sharon, kneeling and examining her new wound. Her eyes rolled weakly. He clicked in annoyance. Why did she have to go and get herself shot. He looked back in the direction they had come, remembering his bomb.

_Fuck..._

He couldn't just let her die here. They were supposed to go their separate ways after he'd blown the lab. It really didn't look like that would be happening he noted as he scooped the faint teary-eyed woman up quickly, racing out of the exit with her.  
Sharon blinked through tears, unable to focus on anything in the darkness of the woods that greeted her. Her life was officially ruined. She'd be on America's Most Wanted for the rest of her days for aiding an extraterrestrial killer.

A murderer...

She swallowed. She needed to get it together and fast. She would be no use to anyone, let alone herself just shaking and sobbing in her pain-induced delirium in his arms. She sniffed, face still contorted in grief as she leaned into the creature's chest. Jones had shot her. That damn fool had shot her. There was little more she could do than curse his name in her weakend state. She'd lost a lot of blood already.

K'tch momentarily glanced down at the small creature in his arms, her eyes gradually falling shut. He almost stopped, but he could feel her heart beating... she had a pulse.

He knew she hadn't wanted him to kill that man in the beginning. Perhaps she'd changed her mind after he had hurt her.

It didn't really matter. He'd just made his point that no one would ever be allowed to torture him and live to spread the word.

A warning device beeped. Just one minute left before the bomb he'd left back at the labs went off.

Was he going to make it out of this?

He grunted, where the hell where they? He'd given his small party a signal to meet him following his coordinates. Breaking out was something he could do on his own. Getting far enough away from the explosion was something he knew he'd need a hand with.

He had all of ten seconds to wonder before stopping dead when he sensed a presence. Before him, a form peeled itself out of the familiar camoflauge. He wouldn't have nearly run into him had he been sporting his mask. But that couldn't be helped.

Relief washed over him as he recognized the smaller warrior. He stepped aside, their hunting ship opening and casting an eerie blue light through the woods beyond.

He didn't ask questions or bother to explain, merely rushed toward it and past the other hunter, Sharon unconscious in his grasp. A hand on his shoulder and a dark growl momentarily halted him. He turned around and snapped at the masked warrior.

It didn't matter if they were only expecting him and no new company. He really didn't have time to explain.

Jerking out of the younger warrior's grasp he rushed inside, the other predator following suit.

He reminded himself of the creature in his arms. Too bad, she was just going to have to tag along until it was safe to return her to her planet. He hadn't told her to get hurt and it wasn't his fault by any means.

He strapped himself in quickly with the the small woman. He would need the protection at least until they were in the upper atmosphere.

Within seconds the small ship was in the air, heading toward the unknown... the lab below bursting into flames.


	10. Meeting2

Author's note: More sketches in homepage.

* * *

The moment she came back to consciousness her eyes widened in absolute terror. She was laying propped up against something, a cool mist clinging to the floor around her. Her eyes became impossibly wide and she raised a brow, brain finally making the connection that a masked creature that looked a lot like K'tch was wrapping something around her arm. Unable to connect anything in her current milieu, she consequently panicked.

Seconds later, a very loud and annoying scream pierced the air. The predator at the door turned quickly, long hair-like tendrils whipping around him.

What the... He thought K'tch had this thing under control...

Almost immediately the hunter at the door opened his pincher-like mandibles and spoke in a language she did not understand, gesturing angrily at someone behind her. She froze in shock as she stared at the unmasked warrior at the door. He seemed taller than K'tch, longer whip-like hair, and the skin around his mandibles and calves was spinier and more mottled with a dark stripe-like pattern.

Sharon trembled as claws tightened around her torso and she almost forgot to breathe. Where was she? Who was restraining her?

"S-stop it... Let me go...! Kuh-cha!" she cried out disoriented struggling in the grasp.

There was a soft purr from directly behind her as well as words she could understand, and in a familar voice. "Hold.. still..."

She shifted, realizing she was lying back against the creature. She shook her head as her vision focussed. Her muscles relaxed with some sort of relief as she recognized the familiar gaze.

"Kuh-cha?"

He nodded slowly, biting back agitation.

He could be elsewhere right now.. like catching up on some much-needed rest or making new weapons to replace the set he'd blown to ashes back at the lab.

Instead, he was summoned to the infirmary to help calm the human female in the instance she awoke. Regardless of the fact that he'd been holding her for a good half hour, it still didn't prevent her from screaming her little head off upon awakening. She sat up slowly, whimpering at the pain in her arm. The warrior beside her nursing her wound suddenly reached back and pulled a syringe forward. She swallowed.

Oh hell no.. that horse needle wasn't comin' anywhere near her.

God only knew what that clear liquid inside was.

She reached over with her left arm, and grabbed the wrist of her right arm, sliding it carefully away, one eye squeezed shut at the pain, other fixed cautiously on the masked hunter.

"No..." she managed through clenched teeth. "I never saw your medical license... and my insurance probably won't compensate you so I'd appreciate it if you just kept that mystery liquid shit to yourself..."

The smaller warrior looked up at K'tch who made a funny noise and shook his head.

Oh well... she'd be fine without it. Lucky they'd already administered a pain-killer ointment around the wound before she'd awakened or she might very well be still damaging everyone's hearing. Seeing the syringe as optional, the other warrior put it away and stood. The taller warrior at the door was still glaring, face unmasked, eyes dark.

Sharon tore her gaze away from him, left hand falling to her side, and landing on flesh that was not her own. She frowned, soft fingers intwining themselves under the net to investigate. Her eyes followed the leg up. She looked to her other side, recognizing the left. She cleared her throat, realizing she was sitting between K'tchs legs.

She turned back slowly to look at him as his knees came up slowly and large claw-like hands slipped beneath her arms. She felt herself pushed forward and lifted before she pulled herself away.

"Let go, I can get up myself..." she frowned, sliding her legs over the slab she was sitting on and rising to her feet. K'tch rose soon after and turned to look at her, making sure she was truly alright.

Satisfied, he turned to leave, the smaller warrior who had been tending to her walking around the slab and following behind him. She shook her head.

"Hey! Wait! Kuh-cha!" she cried out. He stopped, shoulders sagging visibly before he turned to face her in a frighteningly human gesture of annoyance.

He didn't have to tell her he was angry. She was already aware of his short patience. For once, she just didn't care.

She cocked her head.

"You wont introduce me to your friends?" His upper mandibles twitched and clicked twice as he simply stared at her eyes darkening.

"... who are they?" she gestured toward them. "Names?"

A light bulb went off in his brain before he lifted his right hand and pointed, first to the warrior standing guard by the door, then to the smaller one who was standing beside him.

"Arug'rak ... Tzukra." He then waited for her to say something else. She walked up to him sowly and looked past him at the taller, very aggressive-looking warrior by the door who was sporting too many skulls and little bones to make her want to get any closer.

Her brows drew down.

"Arug'rak?" she questioned. He scoffed, making a particularly nasty and aggressive sound and she sighed. "Fine... be that way..." she then looked over at the shorter warrior whose masked gaze was still upon her. "...and you're Tzukra?" she asked cautiously.

He nodded. She reached forward slowly with her right hand to grasp his left in a gesture of formalities. She wasn't quite sure why she'd done it. Perhaps it was her need to preserve some human manners as she found herself stranded in utterly alien surroundings. "I'm Sharon. Sharon Weyland..." she spoke kindly as her left hand gently closed around his.

He made no motion to return the grip, but she shook his hand regardless. "...nice to meet you, Tzukra..." She suddenly raised a brow, cocking her head to meet Arugurak's severe gaze.

At least someone was being nice to her...

Tzukra waited a moment before bowing slightly.

What a funny creature the human female was. Was this a custom? He looked to K'tch who was simply silent and just a little...angry.

Hell, she'd never shared that custom with him. He sneered, turning just a little too quickly and leaving an amused Tzukra to ponder the motion as Sharon released him.

Now why was Tzukra here? He had to remind himself. Ah yes... Because part of his training was to observe how to handle a small hunting ship, so Arug'rak had welcomed him. It's not that he didn't like Tzukra, its just that Tzukra had a very bad habit of bonding with potential prey.

Stupid... Stupid young hunter.  
He was probably going to die before he hit his ideal season.

A pleasant feeling washed over the older warrior from the thought and he grunted.

Speaking of hunting, it was about time he polished his Jones skull.

* * *

Gary was positively fuming as he wrapped another layer of gauze over the bleeding knuckles of his right hand. 

The news that Jones hadn't made it out of harms way before the explosion was still fresh in his mind.

He had never been a favorite character among his co-workers, but he'd known him longer than anyone else in the vicinity.

How many times had he and the agent exchanged jokes over a coffee at the bagel shop?

How many tips had Jones given him regarding his most prized cases that eventually led to his promotion?

They may not have been friends forever, but they got along pretty well, and had continued to for the past 12 years.

His gaze darkened, thoughts drifting over to Sharon and to the creature that Jones's men had captured. If either of them was still alive, he'd already made up his mind that he was going to change that...


	11. Adjusting

Warning: Uncomfortable situations... heh heh

* * *

Sharon found herself on the sidelines for the next few hours. She was by no means ungrateful to them. She simply wanted nothing further to do with the creatures and was just one wrong move away from the very definition of pissed. 

They were interesting though, what with their strange language, their built physiques and superior technology. Now she could truly say she'd seen it all. What would the guys say back home. It suddenly occured to her that she hadn't bothered to call any of her friends or little family she had left since this whole ordeal began. She rolled her eyes, remembering the little cell in her left pocket. Oh well, she sighed as she pulled the sleek silver phone from the clothing and flipped it open. She could bet anything that wireless no matter how wonderful a plan her service boasted could not direct calls from... Her eyes widened as she stood from the slab she had been seated on earlier.

Come to think of it... where was she?

She stood again, eyeing the shorter hunter who had traded places with the other and was now standing guard by the door. She could only describe Tzukra as well... a shorter version of K'tch with paler eyes, eyes he was content to hide behind the mask he'd secured to his features once more. The taller, thicker one who had mysteriously disappeared along with K'tch had an aged look about him, like he was more experienced in anything and everything and proud of it. She was content to avoid him.

Tzukra suddenly stepped toward her, curious as to why she had chosen not to sit. He cocked his head, watching her, hand grasping his guard-stick in practiced discipline. Why was she standing? Did she want something?

Damn it was warm in this ship...She stretched first before turning her gaze back toward him.

"Where did Kuh-cha, go?" she inquired.

He was silent, masked eyes on hers as she slowly walked toward him. "Kuh-cha..." she spoke again. "Where is he"  
Still he was silent, fiddling with a device on his arm before looking at her once more. He pointed in a direction beyond the closed door he was guarding. The woman sighed.

"Do you know what he's doing?" she spoke slowly. He waited a moment before answering. "Trophy..." he then made a sweeping motion back and forth in mid-air and she nodded. Oh god... he was polishing Jones's head. She shuddered at the thought.

"Oh.. Oh I see..." she flashed him a strangely archaic smile. "Speaking of getting things looking nice and clean... " she hesitated for a moment, glancing around. "Do you guys have a...ah... some sort of.. shower?" she made a motion of scrubbing up and down before repeating the word. "Shower? A place for me to get clean?"

He stared at her for all of ten seconds before shortening his guard-stick and sticking it on a contraption to his back, lifting his left arm and typing. It beeped a few times, strange linear-language flashing across the small screen. She stepped closer to him before he put his palm up quickly, halting her. She watched amused as all of his fingers except his index curled into a fist as he assured her he'd only be one moment. She crossed her arms gently, right boot tapping in habit.

After a moment he looked up, flipping the communicator shut before motioning for her to follow. Somewhere along the intricate designs of the dark wall was a button she would have never guessed was a button and she suppressed her surprise as the door slid aside. She was led through a series of other long passages before the door shut behind them and she turned to face him, expecting him to open another long hall. He simply stood there until she realized that the small hall with the smooth floor actually was a shower. She immediately began scanning the room for the shower-head. He walked past her, poking his long dark nail into a dent in the wall and water spewed forth from a small passage over her head. She shrieked, jumping back.

"Tzukra! Hey, hey! Warn me next time... geez..." she complained. He said nothing as he backed into the corner and proceeded to remove his gear, mask following last. She watched him with brows drawn as he stripped down till he was wearing nothing other than his loin. He then waited, watching her.

What was she doing? She turned away as she slowly unlaced the boots a little, pulling her feet out of them. The shorts followed soon, but the shirt proved troublesome with her injured arm. Noting this, Tzukra approached slowly, reaching forward to lift the material gently over her head. She cleared her throat before swallowing nervously. Damn this was uncomfortable. Once she was finally sporting her bra and underwear she hesitated. Well... he wasn't human...why worry. Besides... she wasn't going to wear the same underwear... maybe she could get them cleaned in here as well. Slowly she set the bottom piece aside, good arm reaching up to untap the bra and failing. After a moment of fiddling with it, she turned to Tzukra looking hopeless.

"Umm.. can you get this off, please?" she inquired.

He merely stepped behind her, fiddling with it for all of 3 seconds before it fell to the floor. She then picked both small articles up and walked over to stand under the running water, relieved it was very warm. Her dark hair clung to her skin as it drenched her a little harder than she was accustomed, but oh well. At least the pressure was bearable. She closed her eyes for a moment, reveling in the familiar feeling of content the running waer washed over her. Almost immediately she felt the rough palms on her skin, rubbing something gooey over her shoulders and her eyes snapped open, gaze shooting over to see what was going on.

What the... She stood shocked for a moment she watched the strange substance begin to lather and she sighed in relief. It had no scent, thank god.. She relaxed, wiping some off her shoulder and lathering up her undergarment as she stood under the shower, Tzukra smoothing the stuff over her. She raised a brow as the rough hands curved slowly around her smooth torso and to her front, rubbing over her mammory glands. Geez... did no one have a strict sense of personal space?

She swallowed, unsure how to react. Perhaps it would be better not to. It was pretty obvious that he was concentrated on helping her get clean, nothing more. Why draw attention to the fact that she was utterly weired out by the fact that an alien with rough reptilian hands and claws for nails was giving her a rather thorough cleaning massage.

She cleared her throat as the hands travelled south.

Thorough somehow didn't seem to be strong enough of a word...

"Okay, Mister Tzukra.. ..That's a little too close to the goods for me...I'll take it from here..." she shied away from his touch, pulling away a little. He said nothing as he waited, setting back and letting her rinse off. He'd done what he needed to do... and for once she didn't think she would have been capable of doing a better job herself with what he'd accomplished.

After he had assumed she was finished, he shut the water off and left. He returned moments later with what was a small bundle of scraps of cloth, throwing them to her. She looked at the small material that was ripped in some corners, then the other strip, no wider than 5 inches, raising a brow as she examined it.

So much for a towel... Grimacing, she began padding herself down best she could as Tzukra put his armor back on. He was done in only a moment, turning to look at Sharon whose gaze was on the shorts, boots and shirt that he proceeded to gather. His brow muscles creased further in the middle as he immediately dropped them, shaking his head. What was she doing with the clothes he'd given her?

He shook his head with a grunt and the woman raised a brow.

"What?" she shrugged her shoulders.

He made an oddly strained noise, rising quickly and halting her towel methods. There was no explanation, he simply grabbed the long strip and wrapped it around her small torso once, tying it in the back. With the second strip he pulled it around her waist, tying the strings at each hip that she hadn't realized were there.

She cleared her throat. "Oh..." that was what she was supposed to do with it. She glanced down at her new scandalous norm-repelling out-fit. Tzukra said nothing as he merely went to retrieve her clothing, motioning for her to follow him.

She wrung out her underclothing once more and followed the younger hunter out in her loins and barely-there wrap-bra, thanking God no one cared to see all of the flesh she was exposing. She crossed her arms... someone needed to invent an underwire bra, and soon.

* * *

Oh yes, this was a perfect skull... K'tch decided as he turned it this way and that, holding it up to the light. It was all his... That bastard should have known better than to try to defeat him. The fight could have been better, he recalled clenching his other fist. That didn't matter so much now... what mattered was his nice new shiny alabaster prize... 

He hadn't been admiring his handy work for much longer than a moment when a little signal beeped, signifying that Tzukra's room on the other side of the ship had been accessed. He managed a frown of sorts, hooking the skull to his hip before getting up slowly.

So he had traded with Arug'rak again? Hm... Convenient. He needed to speak with him anyway.

Without a second thought, he headed for the exit.

* * *

Seeing not much else to do with the female, Tzukra had taken her to his room to keep his eye on her as he cleaned his own skull collection. He was sure he was capable of doing both. 

As soon as she entered the small room, Tzukra pressed a button, and a slab slid out of the wall horizontally to the left. He simply dumped her possessions upon them, Sharon watching curiously as he set about his business, typing in codes on a small panel to the right. A case barrier slid open, disappearing into a slot to the right to expose quite a collection of skulls... many of which she was positive weren't from this planet.

She stepped further into the room and the door behind her shut. She then turned to watch Tzukra as he plucked a skull from the far right corner of the display case, as well as a tool from somewhere and walked back over closer to her before sitting.

She stood aimlessly, eyes shifting to the four corners of the small room and display case that seemed to take up half of it. Clutching her damp underclothing she cleared her throat.

"Hey? Anywhere I can put this?" she inquired, dangling the bra in front of his masked eyes. He merely stared.

"To dry..." she stated. He stared for a moment longer before setting the skull aside, and grabbing the underclothes. He walked toward the door they had come through before stopping just in front of it. The soft tap of more buttons being pressed was the only sound before he reached across at a point over the door and pulled a super-thin wire across.

She chuckled.

What the hell was that? A booby-trap? You could barely see it...

"Do you put a current through that or somethin?" she inquired. "..Shock whoever tries to come in here without permission?" He turned partially toward her, wanting to say something but then deciding against it and turning back.

Her eyes widened.

"Well don't fry the only bra I've got, alright?"

He pressed another button. That wasn't what it was for, but oh well...

He had this, no problem. Carefully, he set two little articles of clothing across the line to dry. Once he was sure that they were secure, he walked back over to the corner where he was shining the skull. Finding nothing better to do, Sharon slowly took a seat beside him to watch.

It was quiet for the next couple of minutes as she watched him work, peering at the strange small skull in his hand. He worked it for close to a half an hour, getting into the little grooves with the small polishing tool in his other hand. Once he appeared to be finished he held it up and turned it. Sharon chuckled and he turned to her quickly, slowly bringing it over to show her. She reached for it slowly, hesitating.

"May I?"

He nodded slowly, allowing her to hold it.

"Wow..." she smiled and he watched her content. At least someone appreciated his trophies. They were never big enough for a certain grumpy warrior whose name started with a K...

She was suddenly interrupted by the sound of the door sliding open and she turned to see who it was.

Her eyes widened for a moment as she beheld the scantily-clad warrior. Where the hell was all the armor he had been sporting earlier? Just thick rings on his ankles remained and a little armor on his right shoulder and left hip anda loin-cloth which was barely there in the back from what she could tell... That thing in the front could only serve as something to keep his genitals in check, nothing more... No shoes, no mask, no arm devices...no decent loin-cloth.  
God where was the modesty? She nearly shrieked. Ha... that wasn't the issue though. She had a bone to pick with him, half-naked or not...

Immediately she stood, handing the skull back to Tzukra who continued to admire it.

* * *

He just wanted to talk to Tzukra for a moment, nothing more. Now that Arug'rak was on watch he could have his time. 

Upon reaching Tzukra's quarters he thought about alerting him, but then decided it was pointless. He typed in the code to the door and it opened.

Immediately his reptilian eyes widened. He wasn't so much as surprised that the female's scent was in Tzukra's room. He was shocked for all of five seconds that her undergarments were hanging spent across the censor. His eyes immediately darted to the corner. Where the hell was Tzukra?

His eyes narrowed.  
And what was this? The female was sitting next to him, just shy of leaning on him... and she was actually holding one of his most prized skulls?

He growled.

She was NOT wearing Tzukra's loins...He just wanted to rip his locks right out and beat him with them.

Sharon turned to him suddenly, her expression taking on one of shock. He pushed past the censor, throwing her garments into a corner. This wasn't her personal space so why was she in it...

He let forth a biting snarl, the woman standing and walking to meet him with a hard glare.

"Shut up.. where the hell were you?" she demanded an answer as she crossed her arms.

He glared back at her clicking angrily before remembering her language and gathering the words.

"You stay.. out front.." his deep voice demanded.  
She turned her head in mock confusion.  
"Oh excuse me? Did you say somethin?"

He repeated the words only louder.

"Oh? What now?" she put her hand up to her ear angrily.

He repeated the words once more and she simply shook her head, surprised he was actually about to repeat it again when she snapped at him.

"Don't keep repeating it! Its called sarcasm, you jerk! I can understand you.. How dare you tell me to sit outside like I want to be here... Did I ask you to take me here..? You coulda dropped me off somewhere... A hospital... my Mom's house... anywhere damn-it.."

He simply waved her away, walking toward Tzukra, but she refused to be ignored as she ran around to stand in his way.

"I'm talking to you"  
He grunted.

"Y'know what? A little respect would go a long way for you..." she stated.

He cocked his head.  
What?

"Yes. _Respect_. I saw your ass splayed out on a god-damn lab table... risked _my_ own life to stop them from pulling all of your organs outta your damn body and writing a 12 page report on each one. You'd be just another top-secret file down there if it wasn't for me."

From his corner Tzukra made what she could only interpret as a soft, deep laugh, K'tch throwing a growl in his direction. The laughter abruptly came to a halt.

He took a moment to process what she was saying as he made a strange noise, walking up slowly to the smaller creature.

She watched him in the silence, brows still drawn in agitation as he acknowledged her.  
Hmm... she was actually right for once, and she needed to know it. As much as it killed him to do it, he would put his pride aside just this once.  
He paused for a moment to collect the words before he spoke suddenly, deep voice just a little less angry.

"...Thank..you."

Her expression softened immediately as she recognized his gratitude, the first real vocalized appreciation she realized with a certain amount of acceptance that he'd ever given her.The muscles in his face formed a frown and he looked away from her. So she'd saved his ass. That wouldn't be happening again. Just what the hell did she want from him? Dinner and a movie?

Heh...Well damn, Tzukra was pretty much on that path judging from how comfortable he was with her .. She was wearing his damn clothes... if there was armor involved he'd have assumed she was his mate.. He glanced over at Tzukra. Ugh... he sneered at the young hunter who was absorbed with something in the corner and paying him no attention. He made a particularly loud noise that startled the woman standing next to him, Tzukra merely turning his head. A series of clicks and guttural noises were executed with an agitated tone as the taller warrior pointed to Sharon who raised a brow, crossing her arms in annoyance.

Someone needed to become damn fluent in speaking English and soon...

It occured to her that she'd never been a fan of feeling left out. That went especially for not being able to understand the words of creatures that were pointing angrily at you. Tzukra made a reluctant growl before getting up. Damn, he was never gonna finish the rest of his collection ...

Regardless, K'tch was the authority. He set his skull back with just a little more force than necessary.

Fine... They would play it K'tch's way...


	12. Compassion

Rage... blind and steadfast coursed through the older man as he watched numbly, blinking through the slight drizzle that had started nearly an hour ago, watching as the flag-covered casket was lowered into the damp earth. A dark-haired woman in a black dress opposite was sobbing uncontrollably, an older woman putting a hand to her shoulder comfortingly. Gary's memory finally provided an answer and he sighed. 

Mrs.Goldstine... Now a widow to his friend the late Jones. What a waste... His features turned into a sneer. This was the least that they could do. It was almost ludacrous. For all of the show and the ellaborate burial, he knew that the casket before him contained only a vial of blood, all that was left, and given by feds so that they mght have something to conduct a funeral. After all, nothing had been found at the lab's remains after the blast nearly a week ago...

He shook his head.

That thing was going to pay. He swore on Jone's grave that he was going to make that thing pay...

Only moments seemed to pass, but he found the presence of the mourners slowly dissipating as the sky turned dark, until all that was left was one suit-clad man standing next to a large stone cross in the distance. He bit his bottom lip.

It was Garber.

Slowly, he approached the man. The two of them, had plans to discuss.

* * *

"Geez... why am I now confined to this room?" Sharon's tone carried the hint of agitation as she glared at the hunter standing guard. He offered no explanation. "Is there some problem that your kind seem to be immune to the courtesy of answering people's questions?" she raised a brow.

_So rude.._

Tzukra stepped toward her and she found herself taking a step back. He made a move as if to take another step toward her but halted, instead fixing his gaze, stance straight, guard stick in hand. She was still useful, K'tch had declared. She was not to be let out of his sight until he devised another use for her.

Sharon sighed. How annoying. There was little she could do, or even for her to do, locked there with only a slab in the corner, the mysterious mist clinging to the floor of the room. With a heavy sigh she walked over to the farthest corner of the room and sat upon it. After a moment she lay back against it, turning onto her left side and closing her eyes. She didn't even recall dosing, let alone falling asleep. She remembered vaguely a nightmare involving the lab before she became aware of the movement. Something rough was testing the smooth skin of her cheek, the contact waking her. She was surprised to find herself slowly rousing from a much-needed sleep, vision blurry as she blinked slowly, the hand against her face receding. The sudden formation of the alien creature so close to her with little warning served to jar her severely as her eyes widened and she shrieked. She bolted upright, backing away quickly before recognizing him, heart beating fiercely in her sudden panic.

Unlike K'tch, the warrior would not express distaste at her reaction. Instead, the shorter warrior seemed a little...dissappointed by it.

"My God..." she gasped, catching her breath. "Why you...god-damn it..."

Tzukra stepped back slowly, eyes lowering as he returned to his position at the door. There was silence for all of several moments before she heard a voice that she was not familiar with.

"Do I..."

Sharon's gaze whipped over toward the short warrior, almost doubting she'd heard him say something in English to her.  
"Huh?" she questioned. "Did you just... what did you say?" He lifted his gaze slowly to her from his post at the door. He might as well take a chance while no one else was there to taunt him. There was silence for a moment before he attempted her language again, speaking slow. His voice was a tad softer than K'tch's but still had that strange low guttural quality to it.  
"You are..Scared... of me?"

It sounded more like scarred, but at least he was trying. She simply stared for a moment in shock, trying to comprehend the reasoning behind his very unexpected question.

Scare? Distress was clear across the young woman's features. She'd assumed that Tzukra didn't speak a word of English up until that moment. Quite frankly, she was at a loss for words. Why would he be asking her that? Did he want to scare her?

She swallowed, backing up into the corner.

"Wh-Why do you ask?" she inquired suspiciously.

With a grunt, he shook his head, unable to answer.

* * *

A terrible silence emmanated from the shorter warrior as he refused to say anything more to the human female, unsure of what would happen if he did. K'tch had not lost faith in him yet, his new assignment was proof of that. He hadn't expected company, but that was K'tch's idea. Why he had instructed him to bring the girl along, he did not know. All he was aware of was the older warrior's constant messaging across the screen of his mask.. directing him... advising him.

Sharon stood next to him in the clothing she had worn when she was first brought upon the ship, small flat object in hand. Underneath his mask the muscles in his face formed a frown. If he was going to be taking this soft creature with him, then he seriously needed to discuss getting her some armor. It would be entirely too easy for her to be injured. He purred. Perhaps this too was part of his training. He was instructed to bring her back to the ship unharmed after his business down here had been concluded.

He uncloaked his camoflauge as he crept up to the door behind her. The back entrance to another Weyland facility. She seemed worried as she slid the small flat object into a slot and the screen beside it flashed green, much to her relief. The door slid open and she tip-toed into the dark lab. In the room adjacent, a bright light seeped from under the door. Someone was still here. Tzukra activated his camoflauge once more as Sharon crouched into a corner behind a table. The light beneath the door suddenly disappeared and she heard the knob turn. Taking her chances, she peered over from the side of the desk as the man in the white coat slowly emerged. An object only yards from him crashed to the floor in the dark and the man whipped out a gun.

"Who's there...!" he shouted. Sharon swallowed, shrinking back behind the counter nervously. What was she doing here. What was Tzukra doing here. No one had bothered to tell her much of anything.

A shot rang out, startling her and she held her breath.

Tzukra purred behind his mask at the act of violence. That was all he needed to proceed. Slowly, he peeled himself out of his camoflauge.

Tzukra approached slowly and Sharon watched in horror, eyes widening as she heard the sharp scrape of the claw-like weapon attatched to his wrist slide forth. Was he really going to kill this man? She swallowed, turning away from the scene. The scientist was positively horrified, eyes insanely wide as he fired. One...two...three shots, all of them wasted.

In mere moments he was cornered, eyes glued to the long sharp claws coming toward him.

"Please! I don't want to die... Don't do it... I have to see my kids..."

Sharon inhaled sharply at the words, putting her hands over her ears to block out the man's scream of horror as Tzukra lunged forward with a growl of excitement.

Time seemed to stand still as the screams died and all that was left was the droning sound of her own blood rushing through her body. She didn't know how much time had actually passed before she was startled by the feel of a claw resting careflully upon her shoulder, eyes snapping open and body jerking. Tzukra was kneeling before her silently, head cocked. His hand left her shoulder and reached forward tentatively, claw-like finger smearing the salt-water leaking from her eyes. He brought his finger up to his masked eyes to examine it, thumb rubbing against it for about a minute as it evaporated. He then turned his attention back toward the young woman. He reached forward to pull her up but she tensed in his grasp. Almost immediately he released her. After another moment, she slowly rose to her feet, eyes overflowing as the man's last words began to gnaw at her.

He'd had children...

Fighting to keep the actual sobs from coming she turned away. Refusing to go any further. "Take me back to the ship..." her voice wavered, eyes shut tight. "I can't do this... Please... take me back..." she brought herself to look up at the warrior through tears, relieved when he nodded, eerie voice surprising her.

"Yes..."


	13. Intimate Findings

Warning: explicit content

Just as they'd set foot upon the ship the long loud noise began to sound, regardless of the fact that the female had attempted to muffle it. Tzukra watched with interest as she sat down on the slab in the corner of her designated room and continued making that noise. Unsure of how to handle the situation, he hooked his guard-stick onto a contraption on his back and approached her slowly. The mission had gone rather well, K'tch raising a brow at his quick success. It would appear that he might in fact have a chance at being a more successful warrior. K'tch had silently acknowledged his praise before returning to his own quarters to plan. Apparently there was still work to be done, human facilities to infiltrate and evidence to dispose of. In the meantime, it was understood that Tzukra could do whatever he pleased. K'tch had even offered him his small one-man ship if he felt like hunting anyone. Apparently there was a lot of strife on the other side of the planet and he was certain he'd have time to collect one skull if he truly wished it.

Only...

The younger warrior looked down at the sobbing human female before him. Such a strange phenomenon once he really had a moment to observe. She was shaking as though she were in pain, although he was certain her physcial damage was healing nicely. He found himself wanting to speak, wanting to ask, but was not fluent in her language. At least, not as fluent as K'tch who although knowledgeable, simply chose not to speak very often for reasons unknown. His thoughts briefly flickered to the older warrior. He really was a strict breed.

He leaned closer to the woman, reaching forward and touching the top of her head, surprised by the softness and smooth quality of the strands growing from her head. He kept his hand there a moment before spreading his digits and slowly running them through it. Fingers of his left hand still entwined, he kneeled to her level and peered into her face, trying to decipher the expression.

A warm liquid was dripping from her eyes and he reached forward tentatively, rough index of his right hand following the path the tear had made before drawing back and rubbing the moisture with his thumb.

Sharon sighed. What was he doing? It was obvious neither one of them knew. Either way, she wasn't in the mood for his curiosity and she grit her teeth, turning to him angrily. She wasn't an object for him to play with or a tool for his kind to manipulate and study. She swallowed. His expression was softer than K'tch's somehow, his handling of her much more gentle. Almost immediately she softened her expression in response.

Even so, they were both from the same mold and quite frankly efficient killers. Where was there room for tenderness in a civilization such as theirs?

Contrary to her thoughts, the younger warrior continued to sift his hand through her hair, petting her soothingly, until the tears stopped altogether, the young woman's gaze lost to the hard floor. All the while he was making that odd gurgly clicking noise, something she could only translate as a purr. Oddly enough, it calmed her.  
After a long moment, she turned to look up at him. His pale eyes betrayed nothing, right pincher lifting just a little as though contemplating speaking. She found herself wishing he did speak more. Being in the company of creatures that couldn't readily answer her was proving discouraging and depressing and she found herself longing for the normalcy of a pleasant conversation. She cleared her throat, voice quiet.

"Are you going to sit here and keep watching me?" she spoke slowly. He cocked his head, purr steady.

She sighed. "Guess so..."

He was silent.

"...Do you mind if I lean on you a while? I need to lean on someone... anyone..." There was a small pause before he grunted and nodded visibly, but slowly.

Staring into his frightening facial features, it was a surprise even to herself when she carefully slid off of the slab to sit beside him and turned her cheek to him before slowly, very slowly resting her head against his chest.

It was weird, it was stupid, it didn't make any sense, but it was comfortable and somehow she knew that unlike, K'tch, the shorter warrior Tzukra would not scold her for her actions.

"I don't expect you or any of your kind to understand..." she sighed. "Just pretend like you're a person for a little while, before I go insane."  
The shorter warrior continued to pet her in fascination, amused by her reaction to it. He'd gotten her to stop making that annoying sound, for the water to stop dropping from her eyes. Almost proud of himself for making the woman comfortable, he grunted as he brought his other hand up to hold her.

In no time at all, her breathing had calmed, pulse slowing as she dozed off to the quiet purr of the creature embracing her.

* * *

The rain had begun to pick up, but neither seemed interested in avoiding it as the Gary followed the taller man to the small base-trailer set up several hundred blocks from where the Weyland experimental facility had once existed. After exiting the dark vehicle they paused before the heavy metal door, the younger man reaching up and typing in a code. Seconds later, they were entering the trailer where they were met with a set of white stairs laid out before them that disappeared down a dark passage. The shorter man laughed. 

"How many monsters are in this basement?" he raised a brow, the younger man turning to him, unsure how to answer.

"Monsters I doubt, but something you'll need if you're prepared to fight 'em."

Two more doors and three more codes later, they were greeted by the cool air and immaculate steel corridors of what appeared to a very elaborate underground operation. After walking placidly down the long hall, the young man suddenly turned right, grey door sliding open to reveal a room housing several computer stations. They walked up to the one that was not occupied before the older man, turned to him, awaiting an explanation.

"At this base we have a copy of all of the detailed files on these extraterrestrials."

The older man nodded. "The files from Weyland's experimental facility have been uploaded here as well. So, what would you like to know?"

Gary smiled. "Everything. Tell me everything you know, Garber."

* * *

The following week, K'tch had found little use for her, he and Arug'rak still working on a solution to the chemicals behind the darts that had been used to aid in his capture. 

Seeing little else to do, Tzukra had taken to spending more and more time with the female. Twice since she was brought on board he had accompanied her on the planet's surface. Once, to retrieve data and once to retrieve items she apparently needed. She hadn't taken too well to raw meat, K'tch suggesting they find a supply of food she would ingest.

Tzukra really could find no fault in allowing her to be close. She'd been scanned for any harmful microbes or substances and had passed all regulations. Whatever possessed K'tch to avoid her like the plague was beyond him. Come to think of it, K'tch had never liked being close to any creature unless it was either absolutely necessary or combat was involved. He pondered this silently as he walked by the human's room before deciding to check on her. She was tracing the symbols on the wall curiously, turning quickly at the sound of his approach.

"Something wrong?" she inquired. Perhaps they were finally done with her. The usual silence greeted her before there was a change.

The young warrior was just about to turn and leave when he lifted his gaze, pausing in mid step and becoming alert.

Something was... different.

He walked up to her slowly, pale eyes fixed on her as she raised a brow.

"So? What's the deal?" she inquired.

Wordlessly, he reached forward, putting his right claw on her shoulder, bending down a little and putting his face close to her left cheek, mandibles tapping gently. He stayed there for several seconds, examining her scent.

Something had changed. Unable to pinpoint it, he continued to smell her moving over her other shoulder.

It was very strange, a scent that was almost inviting and uniquely female. He felt his own breath deepen and he purred. His claw-like hands crept down her shoulders and foward to cup each mamory gland through the thin t-shirt she was sporting, the woman frozen in shock. No, it didn't have to do with anything above the torso. He'd been acquainted with the anatomy of the human female and was well aware that his findings only left one place likely for observation of this peculiar scent.

Slowly, his hands left her mamory glands, curving around slowly to rest on her hips and she felt her breath catch, eyes widening as the mood of the room suddenly changed, color rushing to her face. Her heart immediately picked up the pace. Another arm went around her back as Tzukra took a step forward and there was little else for her to do but take a step back.

All she could do was breathe quickly as her back hit the dimly lit wall. There was no warning, none whatsover, just the frightening feeling of a rough hand pressing against her stomach before wrestling its way down the front of her camoflauge pants and pressing against the very definition of her gender and she inhaled sharply.

"Oh god...what are you-" she hadn't even been aware that she'd uttered the words aloud. All she could do was stare numbly, heart beating fiercely as she found herself pinned against the wall by this strong creature. Unable to find her words, she held her breath as one rough finger slid carefully against the most intimate part of her being. She struggled to suppress a whimper and stiffened, shutting her eyes against the assault, waiting for something terrible to happen. She could feel one long finger caressing in a circular motion, the hand at her back rising to pet her hair and she observed the conflict within her senses with shock. She felt her knees weaken before the hand was suddenly withdrawn. She watched dazedly as the pale-eyed creature brought his finger up to his face to examine it, turning his hand this way and that.

The woman trembled in shock as Tzukra made an indescribable noise as he took two steps back.

Ohhhh...

His pale reptilian eyes widened and he swallowed, struggling to quiet his instincts. The human female was ovulating, her scent permeated with pheromones that a warrior of his age could sniff out a mile away. He took a moment to recall the information that he knew was stored in his personal database. If he remembered correctly, that meant she was in season. He gazed down at his hand for a few more moments before looking back up at her and her bewildered expression.

What could he possibly say to her to assure her that he'd meant no harm? Unable to phrase much else, his mandibles spread just a little, dark voice jarring her from her shock.

"Sorry..."

She blinked thrice before regaining her composure, brain still processing the first request when he added, "Rest..." with that he turned away from her sharply.. This situation demanded his attention. It was essential that he run the mucosa sample through the scanner so that he might better predict her functions. With an unwavering determination he found himself heading for the lab, leaving her to her confusion and steadily surfacing feelings of guilt.  



	14. Feel Good Experiment

Warning: Explicit content

* * *

Well...she may have been K'tch's prisoner, but her body was doing things that he needed to know about. Tzukra was still amused from the events of just a few moments ago. K'tch's reaction had been kinda humorous actually. The way his eyes had widened, jaw dropping and mandibles spreading. Clearly he hadn't considered the possibility of something like that happening. Although knowledgeable about the human's language and few customs and behaviors, he knew little about their biological functions. 

Uninterested in the idea of dealing with a human female in season, he left her in Tzukra's care. The younger warrior inexplicably knew how to placate her and she tended to be more agreeable once in his company. In addition to having more knowledge in human behavior and needs, Tzukra was also much more knowledgeable about their anatomy, something K'tch himself did not see as relevant to the hunt.

So, he'd come to a decision. The human called Sharon would have her health monitored by Tzukra who obviously knew how to care for her. Not that he couldn't actually care for the human female himself... his thoughts briefly reverted back to the time after he'd first encountered her. The constant complaining, her easy fatigue, having to carry her back to his camp, her weak stomach and snide commentary... He may not have spoken much to her, but he sure as hell understood every word she'd said and she could be a real bitch when she wasn't frightened. Taking care of her was more like dealing with her as far as he was concerned.

Perhaps this season thing was good afterall. He didn't have to worry about watching out for her. He could simply let Tzukra do it. Hell, Tzukra wanted to anyway. He'd made a point to stop by the younger warrior's room, remembering that he would be keeping the female with him for constant observation. He would have had Arug'rak watch her as his first choice, but the older warrior had vehemently refused. He simply wanted nothing to do with her or her functions. As far as he was concerned, her presence was pointless even though K'tch had dispatched her on a successful mission, declaring her quite useful. The fact that K'tch had brought her on board was annoying enough. To care for her was out of the question. He'd had better things to do. Noting this, it was safe to conclude that Tzukra, who was all-too anxious to find out more about her anyway was the logical choice. Feeling quite pleased with himself, he headed for Tzukra's quarters.

* * *

If he could have smiled, he would have. 

Instead, he nodded gracefully in approval.

Tzukra was positively ecstatic about his handy work as he gazed down at the rather comfortable-looking bed he'd fashioned. He'd strategically folded, layered and tucked different manners of cloth he'd acquired from this planet onto the long semi-impressionable matt he normally covered the slab with when he retired for sleep. It should hopefully accomodate the both of them now that she would be staying in his room. He'd never been a fan of sleeping on very very soft things, but this wasn't about him. It was to keep the female agreeable. And that, should definitely make the female named Sharon comfortable.

Comfort was important, he remembered with caution. He'd caught up on his notes, refreshing his memory. Soon after ovulating, the female would enter a period of extreme discomfort where the unfertilized egg would be discarded. Well, that was the most basic outline of the biological situation. During this process, they could become quite irritable for no reason, extra fatigued, increasingly libidinous and craved more foods. He sighed. It was bad enough that she seemed to need to eat three times a day. Why couldn't she be more like them. On average his species fed every two days. K'tch could go three before feeling hungry. His thoughts turned to the storage. He was sure they had enough.

That wasn't the main issue he noted as he admired the bed. Well, the female could at least get some good rest here and hopefully that would make her less irritable and more inclined to respond favorably to him. He looked at the little device on his right arm. If his calculations were correct, that irritable period would be in a few days... He was just about to turn to Sharon who was sitting in the corner listening to a small device K'tch had deemed it safe for her to use, when his superior entered the room. Sharon's eyes followed him curiously. 

K'tch paid the human no mind as he stopped just a few feet away from the amused warrior.

Sharon watched with interest as they interracted, entertained by the sound of them speaking to one another. She turned the sound on her I-pod down. Their language, as best she could relate to it was harsh but expressive. Where apparent words left off, sounds picked up. A line of language might end with a click or grunt. It was so very odd, but so very fascinating. The sound of such low voices engaged in conversation in their native language was rare indeed. Most of the time they tended to gesture to things. The fact that they were having a full-out conversation could not be ignored. She found her eyes glued to the scene.

Tzukra motioned toward whatever it was he had been doing in that corner, K'tch nodding in satisfaction. It was then that Tzukra did something she did not expect. While speaking, he calmly hooked his left thumb into the belt-like contraption around his narrow waist, leaning back against the wall, hips jutting forward just a little in a human-like stance. Sharon felt her face grow warm as her eyes blazed a trail up all of the exposed flesh. Her eyes traced the creases of his pectoral muscles and down his abs...

She swallowed.

His very tight abs...

If she ignored his insane facial features... he was fairly.. he just might be on the verge of being... In a weird and freaky sorta way he was actually kinda... attractive..

Her eyes lingered on the belt that rested dangeroulsy below his hip-bone. A harsh noise abruptly snapped her out of her daze and she cleared her throat unaware that she'd been so entranced. Tzukra's right hand had come up, palm facing the ceiling as his index curled back towards himself twice very slowly. She was either crazy or that come-hither motion he'd made was strikingly sexy. Shaking the thought from her mind, she stood to see what they wanted of her.

* * *

The flash of cameras was steady, almost as if they were competing with the brilliance of the police lights just outside. 

Four cop cars were littered near the exit, both medical and law enforcement personnel walking to and from the crime scene. This one was different than the others. The man had merely been killed. Garber found himself surprised that the body wasn't skinless nor headless. He was however, of some importance, a scientist and pathologist for Weyland industries. How he'd gotten mixed up in the string of murders was beyond him. Regardless, there were various samples and prints taken from the scene. If his demise was the result of the same killer, they would know soon enough.

Gary had ordered the prints scanned immediately down at Weyland's hidden lab, remembering both the speed and efficiency of their operations. Going through HQ down at the precinct would take more time than he was willing to give. There would be a lot of red tape to clear. He couldn't allow anymore time than necessary for Jone's murderer to wander free. He owed him that much. In the meantime, he'd assigned two officers to information control. The media had been a nuisance ever since this murderer's spree had begun and he was in no mood to be giving extemporaneous speeches. They could chew on the details from the last couple of bodies that had fallen in the creature's path. Already, the local network had since aired a station-sponsored memorial tribute to the late Jones as well as a special on the psychology behind killers. That would keep them occupied for now. He sighed, sifting his hand through his thinning dark hair. Let their imaginations run with that...

* * *

So far so good. Sharon sighed as she found herself in familiar territory with Tzukra. K'tch had been brief with her, but had managed to tell her that her assisstance was needed to operate the human machinery that contained data on them. She was by far no expert and during the days she'd spent with her late uncle Weyland, had been exposed to few procedures and facilities. 

Somehow they were doing a great job with information retrieval and Sharon had successfully copied the hard drive of the main computer to the disc when she took it upon herself to stop in the small room adjacent. Tzukra made a move to follow when she waved him away.

"Excuse me... I don't want you in the bathroom with me.. This is kinda personal..." she grimaced. With practiced discipline, the humanoid waited patiently as she closed the door. He couldn't decipher much from the other side, save for the slight sound of running water. After a few moments, impatience got the best of him and he fiddled with the device on his arm, adjusting his vision to x-ray. He immediately grunted. She appeared to be washing her hands. Unamused he readjusted his vision before she emerged, brow raising.

Sharon sighed in relief. At least her cycle hadn't made its presence known yet. Remembering the date of the last news broadcast she'd caught while out with Tzukra, she'd come to her own conclusion that she'd been in captivity for close to a month. Her brain scrambled with the obnoxious thought of having to deal with it in their company. The thought itself gave her a headache. They'd seemed utterly baffled by her refusal to stomach raw meat. She almost wondered what havoc enduring PMS on board might cause. With a soft grunt, she headed back toward the computer, stark blue light glowing luminously in the corner of the dark lab.

Tzukra followed her every movement with a hawk-like gaze. Once more he became aware of that familiar scent that was unique to her, only it was much more inviting than the night before. He caught himself in his daze and took a breath, attempting to shake off the sudden urge that washed over him. How long had it been since he'd...

She walked by him cautiously, grabbing the copy of the files and pocketing it.

The sound of him typing caught her attention as she watched him activate the device on his arm. He quickly detatched it before grabbing her by the arm and urging her to run. Once outside, they raced forth towards the woods. Deja vu assaulted her senses as K'tch peeled his form out of the darkness, ushering them on the ship before giving a signal. Almost immediately the craft began to quickly ascend, the explosion rocking the woods below.

* * *

This was all becoming disturbingly routine, she mused as she'd emerged from the shower, leaving a faint trail of moisture in her wake as she walked down the glowing hall. She briefly wondered when it was going to end and they'd be done with her. She followed the tunnel-like hall, heading for Tzukra's room. K'tch had made it clear to her that for whatever reason, she would be staying in the shorter warrior's quarters. Upon reaching the entrance, she found the little triangular button that blended in so well with the wall designs and pressed it, relieved when the door slid open. 

Tzukra was in the corner by the bed, undressing from what she could tell. He'd halted upon her entry and simply stared long enough for her to become uncomfortable.

"...What?" she inquired as she eventually took a seat against the wall behind him and he turned away. There was no response and she listened, starting nervously as she heard the faint hiss of an air supply plucked from his mask. Time seemed to stand still as she heard a second.. and then a third pulled, their hiss a quiet disturbance. She watched as he pulled it from his face and then mounted it on the wall.

Freed from the restraints of his mask, her scent was even stronger. It was so very... inviting.

He forced himself to concentrate on the matter at hand as he continued to remove his armor. Sharon watched curiously as buckles were undone, devices unhooked and attatchments detached. It was so very intricate. In mere moments he had stripped down to his loin before turning to her and staring. 

"What is it, Tzukra?" she could hear her own heart beating nervously as her eyes met his. They simply locked gazes with one another, both wishing they could understand what exactly was going on in the other's thoughts. The static of his inhibitions broke through his clearly nagging instinct and almost deterred him.

Almost.

He motioned for her to come close. Reluctantly she stood, readjusting her pale blue cotton PJs before stepping closer.

"What is it?" she inquired.

His right hand came up to her face, grasping her gently by the chin and lifting her gaze.

Hmm... Despite the fact that her facial features were grossly simplistic to him, she wasn't terribly repulsive. Actually, she wasn't very repulsive at all.

She cleared her throat, unsure of how to react to his scrutiny.

His hands immediately fell to her hips and he grabbed them, thumbs rubbing against her pelvis carefully. This was just an experiment. He could stop anytime he needed to. It was just an experiment to-

Ohh... she was at the height of her season, he could smell it. Her hands came up to his, smaller fingers closing around his wrists as she made a move to stop him, but found herself weak or frightened, at that point it was actually difficult to discern which.

"Tzukra... are you-" her words were cut short as he suddenly pulled her close against him.

Oooh... that felt good. He could feel his own body reacting to her and he shut his eyes for a moment, with a purr.

"Tzukra... whoa..." she breathed, turning her face away from the frightening sharp pinchers that were so close to her.

Despite the fact that her tone was repelling, her body was saying the complete opposite. He trailed a finger against the thin fabric pants covering her thigh. Even in his more aroused state, he was aware that he'd been informed that humans didn't make good mating partners. Not only that but he knew little about her species mating rituals.. He suddenly had the urge to get that stuff she was so intent on wearing out of the way and find out.

His claw-like thumbs slipped beneath her pants at the hip, pulling them down with a predatory growl.

"Hey! No!" she started angrily, grip tightening around his wrists. He raised the muscle above his brow in what could be translated as doubt. Damn she was loud.

"Quiet..."

Her eyes widened at the sound of his dark inhuman voice softening and she relaxed a little. "Stop groping me..." she whispered before she bit her bottom lip, unnerved, excited and scared all at once.

What was WITH him all of the sudden?

Instead of claw at her clothes, he decided instead to manipulate the flesh behind them as he reached down between them, hand pressing up between her thighs. She inhaled sharply as his slow movements served to pacify her. He observed that she didn't seem to mind him touching her as long as he made no move to relieve her of her coverings. That would do fine. She was such a soft thing, but once he really thought about it, that really wasn't so bad. His hand slid back up slowly before slipping beneath the clothing just a little less urgently.

Moving slowly with the human female, that seemed to be the key.

He pushed up against her a little, left hand coming up to her back to hold her upright as he groped her. He listened carefully, senses alert as her breathing became deeper and a little more urgent. He took note of all of the changes in her body at this contact, reminding himself that he'd record them later. According to his files, there was a very small piece of flesh in this area that if he pet it the right way, would ensure that she stopped fighting him and allowed him his experiment. He couldn't remember the name of it, but he knew where it was. Perhaps he could find it from a better angle.

Eyes in a daze, Sharon blinked as she felt the young male humanoid slink around to stand behind her, right hand still caressing her beneath her clothes. Her lips parted and a soft frightened moan escaped her before she could stop it. The stress from the past few weeks had finally caught up with her and was begging for a release. Still, morality was knocking loudly.  
What luck. All of the handsome men on her planet that would gladly take her while she was aroused and she was stuck with ...this.. First and foremost... Tzukra wasn't even human. And by human standards he'd fallen out of the ugly tree and somehow managed to completely strip the damn thing down to the very roots.. She swallowed. This was SO not right... and so NOT happening.

"Tzukra stop... I don't think... that's-"

His hand pressed against her at just the right angle and she nearly collapsed back against him with a sigh. He purred. Who was she kidding? The raise in her body temperature accompanied by the smell of her arousal was proof that it was a very good idea. He grunted. In several moments it was going to be the best idea he'd had in days.  
A familiar little beep sounded, Tzukra quickly looked to the device on the wall, hands slowly removing themselves from the woman.

"Sshit..."

K'tch was apparently summoning him. He would just have to finish this experiment.. later.

Sharon's gaze whipped toward the creature, eyes widening.

"Did you just... curse?"

The muscles where his brows would be drew down.

"Yess..."

Without another word he turned his back to her, heading dutifully toward the exit, leaving her a little less shaken and a little more amused.


	15. Revelation

Life, death, the rules that confirmed or refuted an honorable one of either... It was the same in every clan. 

It was decided. Tzukra was getting too close to the human female. Strange as it was, he would just have to squash that crap before it developed any further.. That fool needed to focus on their mission. Or better, he could wait for the situation to progress into something that would result in a lesson well learned. Arug'rak grunted in his own amusement, right hand caressing one of many small bones on the necklace he was sporting. In that case, he really didn't need to do anything other than wait for something to happen. Things were finally becoming interesting after all. Depending on the outcome, he didn't have to do too much but sit back and enjoy the show.

* * *

If Tzukra wasn't so special he'd have decked him on the spot. Instead, they were busy arguing, the shorter warrior explaining all about the strange observations he'd made of Sharon. 

He could watch the female without so much contact, not to mention his reports seemed to be getting more intimate by the day. She wouldn't die if she recieved little comfort when she cried. Just what was so important about Tzukra's experiments that he required so much contact? K'tch's eyes darkened as they stood outside of the control room, Arug'rak aware of their presence as he sat not too far inside, glancing at various monitors. He found little interest in their petty squabbling. Besides, they hadn't even thrown a punch, nothing he cared to see. The older warrior, as usual, had much more important things to do.

K'tch found himself torn between wonder and bitter jealousy. He'd heard about the science of touch and how it could calm a human, but it was not something he'd ever thought he'd need to know or use. He did recall that time he'd taken Sharon back to his camp and she had no choice but to sleep close to him. She'd been insanely skittish, his solution to keep her closer to quiet her. It might have worked, he hadn't really thought about it. All he knew was that he got sleep that night.

He sneered at the thought of Tzukra's touch pleasing her. She was his prisoner. He'd found her, claimed her as one of his effects and had been lenient thus far with his protégé's actions.

If he himself had only been adept at understanding humans on a biological plane, then he wouldn't even need Tzukra. That sensitive, scientific, poor excuse for a warrior... How he'd manage to pass his earlier trials was something he could never comprehend. Maybe that science of his had something to do with it...

* * *

She hadn't noticed how long the humanoid had been gone, only found herself startled awake at the slight pressure of a body much larger than her own retiring beside her. She turned her face away from the wall, blinking slowly as she recognized the creature. Her voice was heavy with the traces of lethargy. 

"Tzukra?" she half-whispered.

He simply stared, bright eyes piercing.

"...You're goin' to sleep now?" she inquired.

He nodded.

She turned to him fully, resting on her right side with a soft sigh as he lay his head down. "No more groping, ok?" she whispered as her eyes became heavily lidded. She looked up at him, eyes tracing his mandibles, then to the tough skin above where his brows would be. She reached up tentatively, pressing the rough skin of his forehead. There would be no more of that, she was sure. Not untill she figured out what exactly was going on in that abnormally big noggin of his. Slowly she withdrew her hand, letting it rest limp on the makeshift bed between them as she drifted back off. He didn't have to wait long until she reached that state, that state where humans became so still and less alert. Carefully, he smoothed a few strands of hair back from her face, watching her just a bit longer before he too, fell fast asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Sharon awoke to a familiar pain and she gasped. "Oh crap..." she groaned at the unpleasantly familiar pain in her abdomen, Tzukra turning to look back at her for a moment. He dropped the armor he was about to attatch and simply reached forward, stroking her face as she winced. Something was definitely wrong with her, gathering the words he spoke slowly. 

"Pain?"  
The young woman bit her bottom lip as she nodded. She needed some medicine, or they could forget her even getting up to leave the room today. The flow wouldn't be too far away now that the cramping had started.

"Tzukra... I need pain killers, fast."  
He cocked his head. Pain killers? Now those were unheard of. If they could kill pain, then they'd have beheaded it long ago. He thought for a good moment about what was going on. She was huddled into fetal position, clutching at the part below her torso. A pain killer? He grunted. A pain blocker was probably what she meant. He reached down carefully, claw-like hand ghosting over the area tenderly and rubbing a little, causing her to moan in agitation.

"Would ya hurry up..?" she frowned. "Its gonna get worse."

He turned to stand, leaning over her once more to feel the area, the muscle beneath the skin tightening. It was then that he recognized a presence behind him and he turned, eyes widening.

* * *

He hadn't expected to feel so strongly, to react so violently to the scene laid out before him. Instinct millenium's old that not even he could fight clouded his judgment. 

Why was he touching her so gently, actions emitting so much concern, so much care? There was no room for such tenderness, not in their world and definitely not on a hunting ship. His expression darkened. It was about time that someone made that clear to Tzukra.

K'tch made a particularly nasty and threatening noise, Tzukra merely meeting his gaze as he approached him.

What was his problem now?

K'tch was emanating raw fury in response to his observation. When his mandibles spread a little, mouth opening, the words of his language were not kindly spoken. Sharon sat up a little as they spoke closer to the exit to the far left. They took turns speaking, K'tch sounding angrier with every word and gesture. It was then that the situation escalated. Without warning, his hand came up, gesturing roughly to an area on Tzukra's chest before pushing him roughly. The younger warrior took several steps back, arms spreading and back arching as he planted his feet farther apart, K'tch doing the same.

Sharon's eyes widened. What the hell where they doing?

K'tch bent his knees a little as he lifted his gaze to the younger warrior's face, welcoming the challenge.

If Tzukra wanted to foster mature pleasures directed at his female, then he'd test him with a mature challenge. Let's see how worthy he really was...

Before Sharon could interpret their actions, Tzukra had thrown the first punch, K'tch dodging it with ease, spinning and slamming his elbow into the shorter hunter's back. Tzukra growled angrily, flipping forward and then turning to face him once more. K'tch made a clicking noise, lifting his top right mandible twice. Tzukra arched his back once more, features darker. K'tch purred. Now that his subordinate knew he was serious, perhaps the fight would really begin.

The younger warrior hesitated as they circled each other, the air thick with tension. Sharon's eyes widened as she watched helplessly from the corner. Why were they fighting each other? She could have sworn they were on the same team.

This time K'tch lunged forward, landing a blow to the younger warrior's face. He was ready to deliver another when Tzukra's right hand came up quickly, trapping the fist aimed at him in a tight grasp. In a split second his knee came up, burying itself in the flesh of his superior's stomach. K'tch made a strange choked noise, wrestling his fist from his grasp, both arms coming up to grab him by the shoulders. His left leg came up, slamming into the softer flesh behind Tzukra's knee and causing him to lose balance. He went down hard, K'tch jumping on top of him and effectively wrestling him on the ground. From there both went rolling across the floor in a symphony of growls, audible blows and unintelligible angry words, Sharon swallowing nervously as the fight grew closer to her.

"G-guys!" she shouted as she pressed her back against the wall. Her pleas went unanswered as they continued to pummel the other, deaf to her worry. She frowned hard. Could someone please tell her what the hell was going on?

After several moments, K'tch had pinned the young warrior beneath him, rendering him immobile. He chuckled darkly as he leaned closer, mandibles a hair's breadth from Tzukra's own. Softly he spoke, Sharon wishing she could understand him. Almost immediately, Tzukra jerked in response, neck shooting forward as he made a decidedly gross noise of expectoration. One moment, K'tch was staring down triumphantly at the young warrior, the next, his hand was coming up, smearing the thick glob of transparent fluid that had landed on his left mandible. He studied it for all of two seconds before back handing him sharply, releasing a terrible roar at him, the very sound making Sharon wish she could shrink back into the wall and disappear.

K'tch tightened his hold for just a second. He reminded himself of just why Tzukra was special, saying it over and over in his mind. The young warrior was damn lucky he had self-control. Had he not, then he'd be well on his way to gutting him for his insolence. He knew few a warrior that could spit in his face and live to tell about it. He would not over look the incident, however. They sat there like that for a while, K'tch waiting for him to challenge him. After several moments, Tzukra finally averted his gaze angrily, his submission all K'tch required. With out another word, the stronger warrior unstraddled him, rising to stand above him. Tzukra wasted no time in rolling over, palms pressing against the floor as he rose to one knee and then to both feet, turning to meet him. It didn't matter that he'd acknowledged his place below K'tch. What mattered was the circumstances leading up to that point.

It wasn't over yet. Oh no. Even as the older warrior growled and then exited, Tzukra knew without a doubt that K'tch was in charge of him and he was likely to make him pay some sort of retribution for this incident. Still... he understood the older warrior's actions, which made the moment all the more sweet. So, he was right after all about K'tch's thoughts on Sharon. A hunter of his discipline wouldn't waste his time attacking one of his clan over a female unless there was something particularly special about them. After all of the attention he'd been paying to the human named Sharon, he just knew that eventually K'tch would no longer be able to ignore it, proving once and for all, that a breed even as strict as his could become jealous. Even a warrior like K'tch could develop a liking to a female, a human female at that. It had taken some time, but the fact that he'd confronted him on the matter and had even fought him to demonstrate his true possession of her simply proved his point. He watched as the door to his quarters slid closed after the prideful warrior.

His shoulders heaved slightly, mandibles twitching as he lifted his bright gaze. The sound was soft but deep at first, a rhythmic noise, the more he opened his mandibles, the louder it seemed to get before Sharon finally realized that it was laughter.

This time Sharon raised a brow.

Tzukra had just gotten the stuffing beat out of him and now he was laughing? He was really laughing, hard at that. She was tempted to ask him what the hell was so funny. The confused woman swallowed, almost afraid to interrupt him, but there were more pressing matters than the creature's sudden bout of inhuman insanity.

"Uh.. Hey, you! Remember me? Now that you're done acting like freshman can you get me some pain killers?" she frowned, crossing her arms.

Almost immediately, the dark laughter faded, Tzukra turning to her quickly.

Oh that was right. He'd been on a mission to retrieve some pain blocker before K'tch had come, proven his theory and confirmed his suspicions about this mysterious and sassy woman he'd brought on board just weeks ago. He looked her up and down once more before exiting the room. Oh how he loved being right...

Whatever punishment K'tch was likely scheming up in his room of endless trophies would be nothing compared to the pride that he knew he was close to putting aside. He understood the cantankerous warrior's need to distance himself from certain urges. His eyes darkened. He may have fooled Sharon, but he couldn't fool him.

Soon, the testy warrior wouldn't even be able to fool himself with his steadily growing desire for the woman he put so much energy into looking down on. Tzukra chuckled as he exited his room. K'tch's pride may have been tough when it mattered, his quick discipline and rough nature merely a guise. That was part of the reason he'd taken a shine to the woman, knowing full well that his comrade would never admit to concern for the soft creature unless provoked. He'd done a splendid job of that he noted with agitation at the ache in his lower mandible. He reached up to rub it, recalling the angry force of the fist that the older hunter had slammed into it. He may not have seen that one coming, but he sure as hell had seen the odd interractions between them a mile away. Oh yes, Tzukra nodded in pleasure as he walked down the hall and followed the path to his small lab.

K'tch's pride was strong, but his desire for the human female named Sharon... was even stronger...


	16. Release

Warning: language, explicit sexual content...

* * *

Gary watched in anger as four men covered from head to toe in a white protective suit transported the cases from the lab below into the waiting helicopter. 

"What the hell are they doing!?" the dark-haired man in the lab coat at the side-lines hollared over the hellicopter's loud engine.

Gary turned to him, Garber stepping forward instead and escorting the man away from the scene. The older man watched him for just a moment longer before turning his attention back toward the woman.

"You've been observant all of this time, but now you're taking charge of the evidence that might have the answers to these last few murders. You can't shut me out of the case now. Not when we're so close to getting Jones's killer."

The stern woman folded her arms over her black suit jacket, dark heels tapping in slight impatience. "Listen, I know exactly how you feel, but this is a federal investigation now. Quite honestly, its no longer your concern. You've done your part. We've already agreed to work with Weyland Industries. We have a better idea of what you're dealing with as well as the means to properly handle it."

Gary's eyes narrowed. "Y'know, let's not talk about what you think you know about anyone or anything. Let's talk about what ya didn't know. You didn't know Jones which doesn't lead me to believe that you'll do everything to bring this thing to justice."  
The woman laughed softly, shaking her head, shoulder length auburn locks twisting in the breeze.

"You're gravely mistaken. I'm afraid to be the one to have to tell you this, but I'm the authority on the case now and believe me, I understand your anger toward Jones's murder."

"If that's the situation, then you'll let me work with ya on the case. Just who the hell do you think you are to tell me to stop trying to catch a killer on the loose in my God-damned city? Its my responsibility to protect the citizens here."

She smiled warmly.

"I'm Jones' replacement...and former partner, Agent Jane Warren, and I'm the new boss in town..."

* * *

The film of unexpected events involving the female in season began to roll, both K'tch and Tzukra wondering just when the drama was going to end. It began as a comedy, at least to Arug'rak who'd refused to care for her. Watching Tzukra give K'tch hints on caring for her in his absence as well as watching the stern warrior attempt to use them had managed to drive away the boredom. Tzukra had come up with some pain blocker later than anticipated but it seemed to be doing its job. Day four and the female was still pain free, but extra tired and cranky. 

K'tch had gathered the nerve to watch her since his scuffle, feeling out of place in every possible manner. He'd been avoiding her all of this time, looking for excuse after excuse to have little to do with her until now. Arug'rak had made the decision for K'tch to watch her while Tzukra went to the surface to stretch his legs and do a little research. He'd been entertaining the thought on developing a counter to the severe tranquilizers that the soft creatures had devised to subdue them, his work finally bearing results. Unfortunately, his results were based purely on theory. He just needed a sample to test with. With K'tch's approval, he had immediately put his plan into action.

Night had just fallen and K'tch was dutifully taking watch. At first he'd assumed that she would be fine on her own, but after she'd run into Arug'rak (who had no qualms about frightening the hell out of her and escorting her rather roughly to the holding room) he realized his mistake. From that moment she'd begun yelling at everyone; angry, confused, PMS clearly driving her to her limits. Even in her newfound sensitivity she'd been sarcastic.

Arug'rak laughed as he turned his back to her, K'tch entering the room to assess the situation.

"I can't take it anymore! Why is that one such an ass!? K'tch, you need to tell him something before I do! How dare he throw me down here like some little kid. I'm a grown woman! I didn't ask to be here! If he can't tolerate me, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind!" she made a move to follow the prideful warrior, K'tch watching her for a second before reaching forward and grabbing her by the arm. Now he understood the female cycle. It was the time of the month that they temporarily went insane.

He held her back firmly. There was no way in hell he'd let her approach his superior like that. Not unless she wanted to be pulled back missing a limb. Arug'rak was not one to mess with.

"That's right you bastard! Don't you walk away from me while I'm talking to you! Hey!" she yelled.

The oldest warrior briefly paused, turning to look over his shoulder at the small female. Her reaction was so amusing. His eyes met K'tch before he parted his mandibles, tone stern. K'tch coughed once, yanking the woman back. Was she trying to get herself killed? Quickly and confidently he reassured the older warrior that everything was under control, holding the woman firmly who'd been yelling even through the angry misty eyes that made them doubt her courage.

With little more to add, Arug'rak left for the control room, door closing behind him. K'tch turned to the stressed woman just as she'd yanked her arm out of his grasp. He was tempted to scold her, instead growling angrily at her.

"Idiot..." How dare she speak to Arug'rak in that tone. She was so unbelievably lucky he'd been there to stop her. Who knows what Arug'rak would have done had he not.

Her eyes widened, teeth clenching at the insult.

"What?" her tone was dangerously even. K'tch simply turned his back to her, eyes glancing at the exit before deciding to just lock her annoying ass in here. Maybe when she calmed down, he'd come back and check on her. He immediately began to muse about all the things he could be doing right now, taking a step toward the door when she'd hurried around to face him.

"Hey! Don't you just walk away while I'm talking to you! What the hell is your problem?!"

He sighed.

Quite frankly he was wondering the exact same thing. Normally she wasn't this difficult to deal with. The last few days she'd been surprisingly irritable. He looked down at the angry human, observing her body language. Her chest was heaving, right hand gesturing angrily toward him as her left sat propped on her hip. Once during her spat she'd shaken her head, complaining of something. It didn't matter anyway. Most of the conversation had been lost to his mental meanderings, her tone boring the hell out of him. He found visual refuge in the door beyond, just itching to get closer to it. It was then that his view was momentarily interrupted by a hand waving before it.

"Hey! Hello? Anybody home?" she raised a brow, every bit offended. Quickly, he swatted her hand away, attention drawn back to her. A growl was her answer.

"Look at me while I'm talking to you!" she fumed. "You need to give me the same respect that you give that Arugurak fella...Is it really so hard to..."

He hadn't realized where along the conversation she'd lost his attention. At that point, he didn't even care. This was somehow all Tzukra's fault. He just couldn't rest until he had his scientific explanations. He'd left him here, abandoned him with this erratic female during the worst possible time. That didn't matter, when he got back, he was going to answer for his earlier offense...He could have his laugh for now, but it'd be the last at his expense... This time, the feeling of two soft hands grabbing him by the shoulder brought him back immediately and he snapped, jerking out of her hold before grasping both of her hands by the wrists. Her expression was priceless. So was his several seconds later.

"W-What do you think you're doing?" she demanded an answer. He refused to speak.

Big mistake...

To his surprise all of the pent up anger and frustration of her situation made itself known. Damn these prideful, egotistical creatures...With surprising strength she pushed him back as she took a step forward. One step was all she needed to catch him off guard as he lost his balance for probably the first time in his life, landing squarely on his back with a warning growl, grip on Sharon taking her down with him. It took a moment for both parties to process what had just happened as he lay there wide-eyed and dazed by his new view of the ceiling, Sharon silent as she straddled him.

The hell?

Almost immediately he'd rolled them both over, lifting his weight slightly as he straddled her. She'd knocked him down. That bitch had actually knocked him on his ass. He could end her right here and now for that... only...

His knees drew farther apart as he leaned closer to her, fighting the urge to hold back a punch that would likely knock her unconscious. Instead he broke his silence, speaking slow.

"Don't...do that...agaaiiin!" A sharp and nasty growl was his punctuation as he simply stared down at her.

"Hmph...Or you'll what?" she frowned. "You think you can scare me? You're wrong..." she breathed. "I did help your ass when that agent was starving and torturing the hell out of you. Don't forget it."

He took a few deep breaths. If she didn't stop bringing that up, he wasn't going to attempt to calm her down, he was simply going to kill her.

He purred softly, waiting for her to react. She was entirely too disagreeable in this state. He briefly thought back to the notes that Tzukra had left for him. He had to calm her... now before she drove him crazy. He had to remind himself that this was natural. This happened with females during that period of time. They were uncomfortable with the biological changes and dealt with it in different ways. Yeah, that was it. This was normal. He rested his hips slowly against hers and her eyes became heavily lidded for just a moment. There was an unexplained amount of tension in the air that he could not decipher as her mood changed at the contact.

Her eyes widened as she realized that she could feel the very definition of his gender through his loin, pressed up between her thighs. Her breath caught. Was he aware that she could feel it? He sat there like that for a long moment, simply straddling her as she looked up at him, afraid to attempt to decipher the look in his golden eyes. Even over his agitated breathing she could hear her own heart beating fiercely, the loud rush of blood surging through her veins as she suddenly tensed.

"Get off of me..." she spoke softly.

To her surprise, he answered her back.

"Noo..."

His right hand came up to her face as he gingerly smoothed back a few strands.

"Stop it..." she turned her face away from his touch, still miffed from the argument. He laughed mentally at her reaction. He could change that. The smooth but tough skin of his thumb slid forward from her cheek, gently tracing the vermillion border along her soft lips before coming around to cup the side of her warm face. She exhaled slowly, turning her face a little into the smoother skin of his palm and closing her eyes at the comfortable contact, a warm rush of arousal pooling in her nether regions..

"What do you think you're doing?" she breathed.

If he could have answered her, he would have,his thoughts focussed entirely on what was going on below his waist.. It was possible that he could take a chance at calming her in the way that Tzukra had instructed. Rhythmic and careful contact had done wonders at pacifying her in the days past, but no one had tried it from this approach. After a few quiet moments, he let his right hand slide up to sift through her hair, bright eyes piercing as he watched her reaction.

Slowly, the anger left her expression, body beginning to untense.

Resistance, anger and possibly repulsion were his expectations. This acceptance, or rather quiet capitulation of the body had not been expected. Thankful, he released her other hand, surprised when she brought it to his face. Her fingers traced his right mandible delicately before entwining her fingers in the strange thick locks that grew from his head. That's when it had all gone wrong.

"You know... you're not so ugly when you're being nice..." she declared.

He'd meant to stop her, remembering that although they simply hung there, the tentacle-like tendrils that grew from his head were not devoid of sensation entirely and were one of his less likely to be discovered erogenous zones.

She stroked them gently, surprised when his gaze softened. He wanted to pull away at this point, before the situation was no longer in his control, instead releasing what could only be described as a low but soft moan.

She'd never heard him make that noise before... .

His eyes widened. This... this right here, wasn't supposed to be happening. He was supposed to be calming her. Her touch shouldn't have had that effect on him. He realized that for the first time he couldn't get his own vocals to obey him. He made a strange clicking noise that seemed to catch in his throat, hips pressing a little harder against hers. She squirmed a little beneath him, both awkward for a moment, unsure of what the other was doing. Was she...?

Sharon swallowed as she could feel the bulge behind his loin pressing against her clitoris through her pjs. She felt wrong acknowledging it, but secretly liked how it made her nether regions tingle. Tentatively, she pushed up against him, shocked by the sensation it caused. His breathing deepened.

She needed to get her hands out of his locks before he lost control completely.

Almost of their own accord, his hips pushed gently against her own, his senses becoming acute and aware of every change in her. Her temperature had begun to rise. To his amusement, his own did as well...

Carefully, her hands crept up around his back, feeling him anxiously. He didn't mind her curious hands so much, but he briefly wondered what she was thinking.

Sharon almost forgot to breathe as he allowed her this contact, feeling a little nervous as her hands explored him. He had such broad shoulders, the make of a strong warrior. Very strong... K'tch felt a flicker of sensation in his nether regions as he noticed her quiet breaths had gotten deeper. Slowly, her hands fell to the narrow waist, feeling him anxiously before falling to his hips. She looked up at him, his gaze still piercing. He hadn't tried to stop her. Perhaps he liked it too...

"K'tch..." she spoke softly, afraid to disturb this strange and sultry encounter. He made an odd guttural noise that she took as a yes. "...What are we... doing?" she whispered.

He wouldn't answer her. Instead he decided to show her as he began to gyrate slowly against her, Sharon's eyes widening as she twisted a little beneath him, unable to silence the soft moan that had escaped her. It felt so good... God that felt so good...

Whatever he was doing, it seemed to be having a tremendous effect... He paused for a moment, pulling back to make sure everything was alright. She was breathing harder, body very warm now. He had to fight for control as the scent of her arousal washed over him, leaving no sense unheightened. She was simply gazing up at him through heavily lidded eyes.

Sharon moaned softly as she brought her hips up to meet the slight pressure his offered, once... twice... and then a third time. She shook her head weakly. It was time to stop, no matter how good it felt. It just wasn't right... Yet she couldn't deny the pleasure that was steadily building into the painful ache between her thighs. Her body begged for a release that she hadn't felt in a very...very... long time..

Did K'tch know what he was doing to her? Did he understand that this was a very close, very intimate melody they were arranging?

He reached down between them, right hand creeping up beneath her soft cotton t-shirt and massaging one soft mammory gland, Sharon's gaze burning into him the entire time. He massaged the other in the same manner, hands falling to her thighs. He pushed them apart just a little more before coming to rest over her, breathing just a little quicker.

"K'tch..." she breathed. "Don't...go any further. Just- ...Ohh..." she arched up against him as she could feel the bulge behind his loin pressing against her desire, resisting the urge to cast away the final barriers of cloth between them. She wasn't quite ready to go that far, not yet. Was she even sure she was ready for this? Wasn't this in contrast to nature...to reason? Still, his movements against her were good. They felt so good. If it really was such a bad idea, then wouldn't she be repulsed? She couldn't possibly be aroused if she were. She brought her knees up a little, adjusting her pjs as she squirmed to find a better angle, surprised by the fluidity of his movements. She'd never seen him like this before, never felt him like this before, but already she had decided that she liked it. She closed her eyes as his movements quickened just a little, hips pressing a little harder as he thrust against her. There was no turning back. She needed release. She reached forward bravely, the avid need for gratification overpowering her sense of worry as she grabbed him by the hips, urging him to move a little slower.

His breathing became distressed for a moment, his purr-like breaths integrated with an odd catch, almost as if he was trying to hold back.

After several moments of this she encouraged him to move a little faster, breathing hard. He kept up the pace long enough for her body to tense beneath him, back arching as she felt the warm rush travel through her senses and she whimpered. It was so sweet... Not once since she'd laid eyes on him did she ever think she'd find herself writhing beneath him, dizzy with desire and the aftershocks of the sweetest orgasm ever.  
She whimpered one final time before collapsing against the floor, the cacophony going on in her thoughts having finally been silenced. 

That did little for his own situation as he continued to thrust against her. A few moments later and he'd found his own release, making a soft growl as he effectively ruined his own loin.

Damn it...

He recovered within seconds, standing in shock. He couldn't believe that he'd actually done that. He'd...

She had...

They'd... had an intimate moment. Far more intimate than he initially thought it'd be.

Wordlessly he went quickly to change. Arug'rak didn't need to know about this one... Five minutes later he'd returned to the room dawning a new loin, Sharon lying on her side.

Was she okay?

He approached her cautiously, suddenly realizing that she was snoring softly, eyes closed and breathing lax. Well that hadn't been too bad. He'd not only calmed her, he'd actually put her ass to sleep, which was even better. He stood there watching her as he had an unnecessarily long debate with himself about whether or not he should leave her there or take her to the bed that his subordinate had fashioned for her. 

After several moments, he'd given in and kneeled on the hard floor, slipping his left arm beneath her knees, right hand behind her back as he lifted her. Her head had fallen against his chest and she'd done little more than moan in confusion, glancing up through heavily lidded dark eyes before immediately falling unconscious, body fatigued with the energy spent enduring the biological changes. Without another thought, he'd taken her to his quarters. She didn't awaken, even as he gently laid her on his make shift bed. Perhaps it wasn't so bad, K'tch surmised as he sat down on the bed beside her and watched her breathe. Her temperature had finally begun to return to normal.

She moaned slightly in discomfort, sighing deeply as she turned onto her side, facing him.

He briefly wondered how Tzukra's progress was going down on earth before looking down at the woman he swore was nothing more than a pain. She was a pain... quite often too. ...But pleasure? He trembled just thinking about what had happened not moments ago in the holding room, thankful no one else was around to see him so weak.

Well, that had definitely been a nice surprise... He didn't expect to feel different about touching her. If anyone should feel different, it was likely to be her. Still, the twinge of guilt danced around in the back of his mind. He hadn't the strength to resist. Why, he had yet to acknowledge.

* * *


	17. Stifled Pride

Author Note: I changed my homepage to something I hope the readers who like this story find...amusing... (its purely entertainment purposes) but I've also loaded some new sketches of Tzukra, K'tch and finally one of Arug'rak in the photos section. Hope you get a kick out of it... ..just click on the link on my profile labelled 'homepage' heh heh...

* * *

Observation from afar combined with a few scans and very educated guesses had led him to the source. He could either attempt to gather information on the process involved in the chemical's manufacture, or simply confiscate a round and dissect it for its secrets on his own. He could derive a counter from its contents, he was sure of that. Either way, he was positive that he could prove that his new solution could work. The thought pleased him more than it really should have and he knew it as he watched from the shadows of the foliage. This wasn't something that his kind generally aspired to. Unlike the humans standing guard at the back entrance to this establishment, it wasn't considered an admirable thing to look forward to becoming a scientist, lawyer, doctor or business man. Where he came from, everything revolved around hunting and everyone's rank was determined by how skilled a warrior they were. Whether or not they were considered exceptionally intelligent was overlooked by an inability to hunt successfully. You could make your weapons from scratch and have the ability to construct an entire vessel on your own, but if you were a terrible hunter, then it was almost better not to even exist. He knew from watching the ways of his society that those unlucky few that fell into those categories needed no cloaking devices to hide. To society, they were practically invisible anyway. To be forsaken, cast-out, rejected and humiliated for all of eternity...that was all one who could not hunt could ever expect from his fellow kind. 

Those with the almost divine combination of power and knowledge were the ones who were praised to the point of being not only highly respected, but idolized.

The inventors, the sick and the weak- To the clans, they were all the same.

Tzukra became eeriely calm as the shadow the moon cast of him disappeared, body hidden by the technology of the clever camouflauge, the advantage greater now that night had fallen. It was rather disconcerting to think that K'tch had personally ranked him on the border between the two. He would eventually prove him and everyone else wrong- He just had to. He glanced around quickly once more before setting his sights on the building in front of him. Well, it was now or never...

* * *

Something was definitely wrong. He'd gone through great lengths to find out the results of a thorough physical scan just to be certain. There was a possibility that he could have been infected with a strange organism while in contact with the female. He was almost positive that they'd categorized everything even remotely important about the strange blue planet. A planet where...he scoffed mentally at a memory, feelings tended to rule more often than common sense. 

The strong lived and the weak perished. What did a desire matter if you weren't strong enough to contain it. He was almost convinced that his dubious new thoughts toward Sharon had been unnaturally induced, that is, until the scanner proved him clean, perfectly healthy and free from any biological anomaly. He could bet almost anything that Tzukra already knew the answers to his questions. He almost wished the young warrior hadn't gone to the surface. Despite his knowledge, Tzukra was no computer and would not spout incontrovertible facts. What he needed right now was the young warrior's questioning nature. He needed a good argument.

The results that flashed across the small screen made the older warrior sigh. There was no arguing with the computer and he was sure that it was correct. Taking his newfound knowledge into account, it was proper to conclude that the problem was entirely in his thoughts, not his physical form. Nevertheless, with the shorter warrior gone, he had to take measures immediately and on his own in order to distance himself from Sharon before he began thinking like her kind, her inferior species- something, he refused to even imagine.

* * *

Agent Warren smiled down at the little folder of files that was tucked neatly into a dark leather binder. She'd been excrutiatingly thorough in her examination as well as the briefing of the dossier concerning Subject A. It was just her luck that this apparent extraterrestrial had escaped. She frowned as she arranged a few things on the smooth dark desk she'd retired to. It had not only escaped, but had manged to take out a crucial Weyland lab and add the trophy head of a very well-respected F.B.I agent to its collection. 

Poor Jones...she sighed as she shook her head. Unfortunately for the creature, its track record didn't look too good. She lifted her gaze from her desk and to the bright moon that shone through the window to her left. There was only one way to deal with anyone or anything with a record like that... Of course, Jones had always been the softer one, the one who held back the most. She smiled. -And where did that land him? If he believed in any deity, than most likely it had only earned him a spot in hell...

-But this time...This time, it would be her way or the highway. Jones wouldn't be here to stop her or interrupt her crude and questionable methods of information retrieval. Now that she was in charge of this operation, no one could stop her. Her gaze jerked toward the sleek black cell before her as the vibration demanded her attention and she reached for it quickly, pausing to listen.

It was Agent Corriano. She recognized the rough voice immediately, his introduction confirming the obvious.

"It's back," was all he needed to say as her eyes widened.

"I'm coming. I want you to follow it but do not take action. That's my job.." her low voice declared as she closed the device and then shoved it into a pocket on the right side of her dark slacks. She then opened the drawer to the right, reaching in and slowly pulling out a silver hand-gun, sliding the magazine open just to gaze at the blue liquid-filled rounds inside. With a disturbing amount of satisfaction, she closed it, releasing the safety lock. The creeps always did come out at night, at least the ones native to this planet did anyway. She'd been on the assignment for only one night- One night and two days and already it was back. The thought sent a wave of pleasure through her. She could accomplish what the operations of the past had not; what Jones could not; what all of his associates could not. She could truly catch this thing. She could catch it and subdue it. Once she'd gotten all she wanted to know from it, then she could let Weyland's scientists have their damn way with it.

She was only interested in its secrets, nothing more...

* * *

Agent Corriano nearly held his breath as he simply watched the humanoid. He'd quietly radioed for any untrained personnel to discreetly evacuate before the creature crossed their paths. After suiting up, he'd gone in and caught up with it, heart beating fiercely the duration of the silent chase. He'd been on its trail for close to twenty five minutes, several of which it had spent examining the contents of a test tube that had been recently transported to the lower level labs. Whatever it was doing, it appeared frighteningly specific in its motive. It reached into the folds of armor attatched to its right hip, pulling forth a small gadget and dipping it into the contents of the flask before inserting it into a tiny space in the device attached to its left arm. The mini computer beeped twice and it lifted a flap, index pressing in a pattern over a set of small buttons; typing he assumed. 

Corriano watched in quiet fascination. It was definitely intelligent.

His gaze then floated to the chemicals it seemed so interested in. He swallowed as he recognized the liquid in the flasks. It was the improved formula to the tranquilizer.

So...

It had knowingly snuck into this specific building, crept into the lab and searched several treys. All for the tranquilizer? The dark-haired agent wondered what it was trying to do with as he peered from over a set of tubes nestled vertically into support rings. The humanoid continued to type, pausing every so often to communicate- With who or what the man dreaded to think about... Its gaze darted in all directions, keeping a tab on its surroundings, the action startling the man watching from the corner. He ducked back down, eyes widening to his horror as a pen set near the end of the table trembled with the slight vibration before rolling inevitably toward the edge and out of his reach.

The sound of the plastic clanking softly on the tile floor was like the crash of cymbals in the perfect quiet and he immediately reached for his gun, jaw dropping as the creature camouflaged, eyes flashing before it began to head straight for him. He stood with a nervous exclamation as he jumped out the way, a small yelp escaping him. It was nearly upon him when it suddenly halted, becoming visible. It stood frozen, head thrown back, arms up at its sides in surprise for two seconds before suddenly collapsing face forward onto the floor. Agent Corriano blinked twice as he stared down at the unconscious creature, gaze going to the figure standing behind it, weapon lowering.

For once, he was genuinely happy to see her.

"Y'know, for an agent, you sure scream like a pussy..." the stern voice announced.

He chuckled in spite of his earlier terror.

"Agent Warren?" he questioned. "How the hell did you get here so fast.." 

The woman in the dark suit tucked a few auburn strands back. "You know me...Always itching for the next assignment..."

"Ha... Especially this one," he stated as he picked himself off of the floor and walked closer to the thing thats approach had sent his life flashing before his eyes.

The stern woman quickly locked the gun's saftey once more, right foot inching forward as she nudged the motionless thing lying face down on the floor before them, its dark presence seeming to defile the prestine white lab floor. It remained still. Satisfied, she tucked the gun back into the holster on her side, retrieving the radio on her left and giving her team the okay to enter and contain. She watched the man standing before her as she put it away.

"Now that I've managed to capture it... like I said I would... how 'bout we take a coffee break?"

The older agent averted his gaze as he cleared his throat.

Jane was definitely not your typical woman... Perhaps that was the reason he'd fallen for her the first time. He shook his head, dismissing the past. He had already convinced himself that there wouldn't be second...

* * *

It was just hours later when Arug'rak had marched down to K'tch's quarters, looking every bit amused. Sharon had awakened immediately at the larger warriors loud approach, K'tch standing quickly to see what was so important. The oldest warrior hardly ever told anyone anything to their face unless he felt it was of some importance. The thought that he'd actively tracked him to his room required his undivided attention. 

Despite bearing news of the highest degree of urgency, Arug'rak's movements were still annoyingly lackadaisical as he raised one large mandible, mouth barely even opening as he spoke.

"K'tch..."

The troubled warrior acknowledged him quickly and answered in their language. Sharon watched them cautiously, anxious to know what had happened.

K'tch cocked his head at his superior's instructions, mind immediately taking inventory.

This was just great. Just fucking great. He'd always known that having a scientist in the blood-line would be a problem. Ugh...They were always way more absorbed with numbers and figures when their minds should have been on the hunt...

Such a stupid lot really, ironic as it sounded...

It was now his job to take care of this...

They had been going back and forth, gesturing so intricately that it was almost as effective as sign language. It was no wonder her presence was utterly forgotten during their conversation. Sharon stepped closer, curiosity and her hatred for being ignored encouraging her to speak.

"Hey? 'Scuse me?" the young woman interrupted. "What's going on? Why is everyone so serious?"

K'tch shook his head, turning to her. He was damn sure that Arug'rak wouldn't even bother to look at the woman, leaving it up to him to translate the situation. With a deep breath he took a step toward his prisoner.

"Tzukra...caught."

Immediately her eyes widened.

"What? Are you serious?" she looked for a moment, clearly surprised. They'd actually managed to nab the quick, young warrior? "Well, what does that mean?"

He made a fist, nudging it in the center of his chest first for emphasis as he spoke.

"I...will get him...Soon."

The testy woman raised a brow.

"Oh really?"

He grunted. What was her problem? She didn't think he could do it or something?

"Mmm...mmm...mmm" she shook her head. "I don't understand. I definitely don't understand you guys. You never gave a damn about him before."

His eyes widened slightly for just a moment before returning to their narrow gaze as she continued.

"From what I've seen and heard you're always looking down on him. Now all of the sudden you care? I mean you actually care? This is so strange... Weren't you just beating the hell out of him the day before?"

K'tch growled threateningly, Sharon crossing her arms in response. He could growl at her all he wanted. It was true.

"I don't believe this. I don't freakin' believe this. One minute you're jealous, the next you hate him, the next you're ready to risk your life to save him. That doesn't make any sense. Just what is he to you? Hm? Tell me why you let him get away with stuff. I know if I'd spit in your face you'd have probably done more. So, why do you care so damn much, huh? Why is Tzukra so special?"

The tall creature grunted, lowering his head at her inquiry. The only way she would understand would be if he swallowed his pride and verbally gave her the truth. Rare as the situation was, it might do her good to know. Reluctantly his mandibles spread, mouth opening as he spoke.

"He's... my brother..."

* * *


	18. Get It

Warning: EXPLICIT sexual content, language... Note: New sketch in homepage for this chapter..If you dunno how to find/navigate my homepage, just click the link on my author profile 'homepage', then click the small profile pic in the top left to go straight to photos and go to the 'my photos' album to see the art... Enjoy ;-)

* * *

She hadn't really questioned the origin of much of the meat she'd been ingesting, either out of fear of the facts or blind assumptions. The food hadn't killed her the first day, so it was obvious she'd be fine. She recalled just moments earlier her outspoken arguments regarding his behavior. He seemed faintly worried about the smaller warrior named Tzukra. She shook her head, arms still crossed as she leaned back against a dark tree. Faintly just didn't cut it. His own flesh and blood was being held captive by the very kind of people that had no problems mistreating him. Instead of racing to the site to kick some ass, the next day he'd dragged her out here into the late afternoon woods to make her witness to his hunger. 

If she thought she could have hit him and gotten away with it, she would have punched him. Instead, she chose to argue.

"You know what? You're a moron.." she concluded. "You find out that your brother has been captured and you're out here worried about dinner? You oughta be ashamed of yourself, you know that?"

He shook his head, ignoring her. Tzukra had only signalled his capture, not distress. Knowing him, he was probably anxious to make a few more observations before asking for any assisstance. Of course, some part of him that he refused to acknowledge had been worried about the news, his superior, Arug'rak finding the whole situation rather entertaining. The cocky warrior had even placed a bet on his ability to bring the warrior back if need be. He grunted. Arug'rak going in to help him was the last thing he wanted. Thinking about the battles he'd fought by him in the past, it was okay to conclude that the older warrior was the bloodiest of them all. He was damn flashy and showy; always ready to demonstrate his fascinating strength and skills. He was the best of them all, the brightest, the quickest, the oldest... and damn proud of it. K'tch shook the thought from his mind. No, he wasn't in the mood to be outdone by one who stood above him; one whose battles to date had never failed to make him look and feel like a stupid amateur...

If Tzukra didn't signal him again at the designated time, then heads would be rolling by his hand and his hand alone if he could help it...

There was a slight rustle a few yards ahead. Ah, so there it was...his right mandible tapped a tiny button on the interior of his mask, his vision zooming in response. He could see the animal in the distance tentatively making its way toward them and he turned to the woman who was still yapping behind him. For the love of the hunt, why was she so loquacious? Judging by the way she went on about the situation, you'd swear Tzukra was related to her instead...

He reached up and quickly covered her mouth with his hand. She wriggled out of his grasp, eyes angry as she got the clue and immediately shut up with a huff of indignation and a quiet curse.

The distraction now gone, he turned away from her with a grunt of satisfaction, taking a few thoughtful steps toward the small clearing several yards ahead. It seemed as though someone flipped a switch, transforming him from the ugly cantankerous bastard to the dazzling and alluring hunter as he leaned down a little, movements becoming slower and more calculated. Sharon watched in an amazed stupor as he carefully began to creep towards the end of the foliage. Her anger died down to a degree. Somehow he was amazingly attractive when he slipped into this mode and she couldn't help admiring it.  
When he got down to business, when everything about him was foccussed on the hunt, it sent a secret thrill of pleasure through her, exciting both her body and mind on an instinctual level. There was an unmistakable discipline about him. He was strong, he was independent, his movements unconsciously seductive. He knew exactly what he was doing and the thought itself was a powerful turn-on. He knew just how to handle every situation as well as how to handle himself on the field. She sighed quietly. If she let him, perhaps she'd find out that he knew precisely how to handle her too...

Her thoughts momentarily returned to the scene at hand as he stalked something unseen to her. Watching him was actually rather exciting. She wasn't quite sure when the change had taken place. All she knew was that she found her eyes glued to him every time.

He reached for a strange sharp-ridged device that had been hanging idle and coiled on his right hip. Her eyes narrowed to focus as she observed quietly, swallowing down her apprehension as he uncurled the weapon that curiously resembled a whip.

Her eyes widened for just a moment as he took two careful steps and stopped, watching, waiting. Then she noticed the brown creature in the far left of the clearing as it began to explore the ground, coming closer to him, but somehow oblivious. Its body was about the thickness of a large man, held up by four skinny but strong legs. It looked like an adult stag, brandishing new , but small antlers. Its dark nose was in the ground, sniffing at something in the plants near its hoofed feet. It was then that K'tch dragged the whip against the ground once before lifting his arm, every muscle in his back rippling as he half-turned, throwing his right arm forward. The creature's head shot up and it looked ready to run, all four legs tensing, but it was much too late. K'tch flicked his wrist, the whip cracking loudly as it wrapped around the creature's neck. He made a quick jerking motion and then it was over, Sharon stunned from her corner by the scene. Blood and entrails that she was certain she would never be able to identify, flew into several directions at the mere force. Its head, landing with a dull thud, antlers digging into the moist soil as the legs bent, body crumpling seconds later.

K'tch growled with satisfaction as he approached the new corpse.

It looked like they would be having meat tonight afterall...

* * *

His own precautionary formula had done little to keep him from going under, but thankfully had brought him back quicker than they'd anticipated. He'd been out for close to three hours when he found himself rousing from a deep and very unnatural slumber. His head hurt just a little and he made a move to reach up and rub it when he realized wth horror that he couldn't move it. His eyes darted from side to side as he observed his very vulnerable situation. 

So they had restrained him. No surprise there. He'd read K'tch's report on their handling of him, curious about the manner of his escape. He immediately noticed a man to his left who was turning to him at the sound of him fidgeting. He was a short-haired man that smelled faintly of a chemical that was foreign to him. He wore dark fitted garments, a white face mask and an even whiter coat that hung open and fell past his knees. His gloved hands had been racing over a flat machine, fingers reaching and pressing in a pattern that he didn't understand as he typed. There was another male at the end of the table dressed similarly. He seemed younger, with bright eyes and light wavy cropped hair. Only he was holding a small flat object with a tiny protruding end that he pulled by the index and thumb of his right hand. It made a slight hissing sound as he extended it slowly, carefully holding it against different areas of his limbs before turning to write on a clip board behind him and then repeating the action.

Tzukra watched him curiously, wondering if he too looked like this when he took measurements of specimens back in his own lab. Both creatures shared a glance over his immobile frame, the one at the computer taking a step toward him.

"...And what do we have here? Awake already are we?"

Tzukra shook his head once more. His voice was funny. It was an accent, he knew. It was something he'd recognized as native to a hot land that existed across the waters from this one, generally spoken by the humans with the darker skin, the darker hair and with the strange small circle of red paint that many liked to place between their brows...The accent was thick and with his limited English and little means to translate, it was no surprise that the tall creature had made absolutely no sense to him. He almost found himself tempted to ask him to repeat it. Instead, his eyes widened, vision focussing best it could without a mask as the door to the far right opened and two more people entered the room. Them, he could understand a little better.

They too wore masks, both almost similar in height, although one was female and under her coat wore a dark cloth that wrapped around her entire frame and stopped just below the knees, heels clicking as she approached.

She leaned over him, the new man doing the same.

"Is this him?" she inquired.

Tzukra merely stared, deciding that he didn't like her voice.

The man to her right shook his head.

"No. This one's different..."

The young warrior sighed. He'd understood the negative, no. He understood that they were talking about him. One and different inexplicably made him feel uncomfortable. He knew that different was significant somehow. Whether or not that was a good thing or a bad thing, he had yet to find out...

* * *

He would do it at least once before his departure. It wasn't the new and foreign sense of longing or even the simple biology of the matter encouraging him. It had nothing to do with his growing attraction toward the pesky woman or her presence. He suddenly had the urge to be closer to her because he wanted, or rather needed to revel in that last pleasure just in case things got out of hand. He wanted to indulge in the sensations he knew her body could give him once more should something unexpected happen to him on her planet. After about an hour he'd finally finished reading the observations of human copulation, feeling no guilt whatsoever at having glossed over the map of the building that Tzukra was still captive in. He knew that the young warrior had plenty of time to get another signal out if he so chose to. Until then, he would bide his own time understanding human mating rituals. He knew as well as Sharon did that he could successfully court her. She'd been giving him really odd looks ever since that encounter a few days ago. He'd done something right, giving her what was known in her language as an orgasm. Since then she'd been surprisingly less irritable. She was chatty, but no where near the agitated ball of stress she'd been during her cycle, which he quietly thanked whatever power influenced him was finally over. 

She had retired to his quarters after eating a small portion of the meat he'd roasted in the depths of some machine tucked into the back of a dimly lit space near the control room.

Now was probably the best time to try. She'd been fed, she'd engaged in her lengthy cleansing ritual and was quite content to relax in his space. Her sign of comfort was the okay he needed to go ahead.

He paused outside of his door, eyes lost in thought. No matter how much he wanted to distance himself, he still realized that he wanted to know every inch of her intimately. Translating all of the strange and complicated signals her body had been unknowingly sending him, he was right to infer that she wanted him to as well. Only something was holding the emotional creature he knew as Sharon back from taking that step. What could make a creature deny an instinct that strong, he wondered. Was it fear? He'd taken notice of how her pulse would quicken often-times when he'd entered the room, or how her face would warm, color rushing to her cheeks when he came just a bit too close...

Lately her reaction had become more controlled. ...But despite her efforts to conceal her thoughts, her desire was something he didn't need facts or even her confirmation to explain. He could smell it.

He opened the door and walked through a matter of factly, the woman sitting on the softened slab in the corner to the far right, looking up at him. He didn't say anything to her as he walked toward the wall near the center and began mounting his equipment on it, undoing the strap around his torso before allowing the armor to slide off of his shoulders. He turned partially toward her as he knelt, finding a small button on the side of his calves and pressing it, the armor popping open as he unclamped it and removed it, watching her the whole time. After a moment she just had to turn away from the intense gaze, a little too excited by it. He seemed to be thinking hard about something, no doubt having to do with her...

After doing away with the unnecessary pieces of armor he turned to the woman sitting about a yard from him, right hand turning palm up as all of the fingers but his thumb lifted together thrice in a quick motion. She stood slowly, assuming that was the nature of the gesture.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" she inquired. He said nothing as he stepped closer, placing his hands upon her shoulders. She felt the flutter of nerves in her stomach, body remembering the effect of his touch and falling lax in response at the memory of the sweet sensations. He watched her responses eagerly as he began to slowly knead the soft flesh in his hands. She swayed a little with the movement, eyes meeting his.

"Did you have something..." she cleared her throat.."To say?"

He shook his head just a little, the woman almost missing the action entirely. Okay...

"Then why are you staring at me like that..." her voice softened.

His right hand slid down her arm, curving around her back and down, his next action startling her and causing her to inhale sharply. She strongly resisted the reflexive urge to slap him. She was faintly unnerved that he'd grabbed her ass, fingers closing around a hand-full of soft flesh and squeezing it, drawing her hips closer against his own.

"Hey..." she breathed, mind racing and nerves on high. "I still don't... quite know-"

He grew impatient, listening to her vain attempts to convince herself that she didn't want this from him. He needed to shut her up. This wasn't a time for talking. It was about time he satisfied his urge to copulate with her. He was achingly stiff at the mere thought and craved his release. He continued to massage her for several seconds before leaning forward and down. Her eyes bulged as his mandibles spread wide, face coming closer and closer to her own. There was nowhere left for her to go as she stood shocked in place. In a moment of fright and excitement she turned her face away from his, surprised when she felt a warm hand grasp her chin and gently return her gaze. His hand slid up her back, pulling her torso forward and her breasts rubbed against the hard flesh of his pectoral muscles through the thin shirt.

There was nothing left for her to do but stare nervously as he came closer still, tilting his head a little.

He'd figured out a way that he might be able to compensate for the mouth that she was likely used to. If he spread his mandibles wide enough and angled his face, then he could taste her flesh in what was a better imitation of a kiss without hurting her. The softer interior of his mouth could be made to protrude just a little so that she could be explored in a more familiar way. If she avoided the few teeth guarding it, then everything would be fine. After quickly contemplating it, he closed the distance between them. She jolted initially as the strong muscles behind the soft flesh puckered outward, brushing against her mouth. His left hand reached up to pet her, briefly wondering what all the fuss was. He wasn't going to hurt her...

The soft flesh was much warmer, heat almost burning as it trailed a path down her jaw and then her neck, making strangely soft and wet sucking noises as it went along. She merely breathed, mind and body consciously following and feeling where his mouth went, afraid to move; afraid to think...

She couldn't understand the anatomy of his mouth, nor did she wish to try. All she knew was that once she got past the pinchers, it felt exactly like a strong, hot and wet mouth kissing her neck and making her tremble before sliding down her torso. It wasn't normal in the least bit. It was odd, it was freaky...but it felt great...and that's all that her senses needed to know. He pulled apart the taps to the thin shirt she wore, opening it completely before letting it slide down her shoulders to fall to the floor in a soft flutter.

His mouth returned to her body, pausing at the newly exposed left breast before carefully testing it, jaw pressing into the softer flesh as he nuzzled it. He repeated that action with the other before coming back up to her face, his golden gaze tense. She wanted to say something, anything, but found herself at a loss for words and logic.

Was she really going to let him go all the way?

Clearly, she had lost touch with her sense of humanity.. 

Suddenly he brought his face back up and she wanted to move away as the soft flesh closed over her lips slowly, pausing before repeating the action with a little more force. In contrast to her earlier assumptions, the warm air that he exhaled across her soft skin had a faint but not entirely disagreeable scent. If she thought hard about it, it was almost like a warm exotic spice that she couldn't identify.. Her brain stumbled across the thought, dismissing it as entirely okay before averting her attention back toward the matter at hand. His left hand grasped her face, angling it up towards his as the soft flesh of his interior mouth sucked, tugging on her upper lip just hard enough to reward him with a purely lustful moan, her body quivering as her hands slipped around his waist.

He concluded that he might get a better response if he tried his oral exploration in combination with other movements. With a soft growl, he turned her toward the wall. There was little warning this time as he pressed up against her from behind, right hand gliding around her front and squeezing his hand up between her tense thighs, massaging upward to rub gently against her very very slowly. She arched back a little to see his expression, her arms trembling as she tried to balance.

There was no other way to describe it. She felt delicious.

She could feel his hip bone pressing into her skin, strong muscles of his thighs contracting with each movement as he rubbed his genitals against the soft flesh of her gluteus, anxious to do away with the cloth-like barriers they wore. She lost all sense of time and space as she whimpered, hips rocking into his hypnotically. His strange and very warm mouth was suddenly on her neck, sucking feverishly against her moist skin. Her right hand slid down over the one between her thighs, bringing it up harder against her entrance. Gently, he slid his hand beneath her dark cotton pants, slipping a finger inside. Her entire body shook, moaning loud as she climaxed.

Her knees nearly gave out...

With a whispered curse in his language, K'tch forced himself to pull away from her. He hadn't expected her to orgasm so quickly. He had to put some distance between them for just a moment if he was going to do this while looking at her, which called for him turning her back around.

Her brain was swimming in pleasure, body faintly registering the feeling of her back hitting the temporary bed, legs spread apart. Her dark pants had been tugged off with little resistance on her part. She struggled to keep her eyes open, to watch every move he made, only her eyes rolled back a little, unfocussed and useless as her hands slid up his arms and around to his back. His skin was kind of tough and in some areas like his elbows was tougher and ridged. Yet, the skin over the majority of his muscles had a good amount of elasticity in it. It was warm, just pliant enough and smooth like a snake's. She could feel his muscles ripple beneath it. That was good enough for her.

He paused for a moment just to watch her, pleased by her sudden need to draw more air into her lungs. He practically ripped the front flap of his loin off before positioning himself at her entrance. She bit her bottom lip nervously as he placed his hands on either side of her torso.

"Wait..." she breathed. He watched her, waiting for her to continue... "K'tch..." she seemed to be having trouble forming words, her body's sensations scrambling her brain. He sighed, his patience wearing thin as she took a few deep breaths, right hand floating up to his face. "It's creepy when... you don't say anything..."

He took a few deep breaths of his own, raising the muscle where his brows would be as he wondered where her brain had been...

He had been saying stuff. A lot of stuff... She just couldn't understand him or recognize that the strange clicks and guttural sounds that were mere noises to her were actually words in his language. He couldn't imagine what she would possibly want him to say to her anyway. He growled before speaking, low voice a strange comfort to her.

"Submit..." he advised.

There. That was about as much as he was willing to translate. The hand she had placed on his face travelled back into his locks and his eyes rolled back for a second.

He couldn't resist lowering himself into her at that. Her chest heaved, eyes glazed over as he slowly pressed the slightly mottled and waiting erection past the warm fleshy folds of labia, inching forward until the entire length was encased in wet heat. He pushed until their hips met, Sharon groaning and squirming beneath him. Then he pulled his hips back slowly, Sharon practically melting at the delightful sensation of the tight muscles clenching around him, making it hard to release him. He moved forward again just to feel himself sink into that blissful heat, knowing he was damned twisted for enjoying it. He lifted his hips tentatively, thrusting carefully at different angles inside of her to see what she liked best. He brought his hips up in a swooping motion and she whimpered, hands on his back trembling.

She was gasping and moaning in pleasure, her expression almost one of disbelief.

Her arousal was steadily rising as her entire body trembled with each breath, legs parting wider as she pushed up against him, body adjusting to the intrusion. He didn't quite understand the meaning of the noises she was making, but he knew that they were a sign of her pleasure, the few words that she moaned, confirming it.

"...Oh... yes... Yes... that's it..."

Her hips gradually began to rock faster to meet his as he moved in an undulating motion. She thrust hard upward, needing to feel him inside of her. The feeling was so wonderful, so intense and so satisfying. Soon all of her muscles, tensed and she threw her head back with a cry, eyes squeezed shut.

"O-...Oh my god..."

There was the sudden explosion of sweet bliss between her thighs and it spread, tingling down to her fingertips and down her toes as she arched up against him, tears leaking from the corners of her heavily lidded eyes. The muscles in her lower extremities clenched spasmodically around him, driving him over the edge as she rode out her climax. His entire frame stiffened and he thrust hard and quick, vocals grinding out a word that for some reason came to him in English rather than his native tongue...

"...Fuck..!" he growled as he found his own release. He arched sharply, locks slapping against his back with a faint clap-like noise, the movements of his hips beginning to slow. He savored every sensation along the descent from the pleasurable madness, breathing still hard. He gave her a few moments to recover before he began to painstakingly draw his hips back, the woman groaning as he pulled himself from the slick passage, body reluctant to release him.

He was still breathing a little hard, purr-like noise coming in quicker breaths as he lay on his back beside her, face turned away from her. She had nearly drifted off when she felt him shift a little and she summoned the energy to move, wiping the sweat from her forehead before sliding up beside him. She dragged her left arm across his torso in an embrace, head resting against his chest. It wouldn't be the first time since she met him that she'd be sleeping close against him like this. However, this time, her thoughts regarding him wildly contrasted those she'd had the night they'd shared in the woods near her house...back when she'd found him completely repulsive. She sighed. Now here she was, head still spinning in her post-orgasmic euphoria, wondering how she'd convince herself later it hadn't been a dream... She slowly looked up at the hunter, whose eyes were heavily lidded, gaze lost to the wall opposite.

"K'tch?" she whispered.

He lay still, gaze simply averting to her in acknowledgment.

"... I never thought I'd be saying this..but ...damn..." she breathed. "That was...amazing..."

He sighed audibly, right hand coming up to pet her. He didn't need her to tell him that... He'd felt her orgasm, twice.

"...So.." her voice was softer as she looked up into his eyes. "You're too quiet... What's goin' on in that brain of yours?"

The hand on her back glided once over her skin, pausing before he spoke.

"Sleep..."

Just the mere mention of the word made her realize how tired she was. She had little strength to resist the pleasant drowsiness that followed her utter satiation and she gave into it without a fight, falling asleep against the stern creature, the only sound in the warm room that of their quiet breaths...

Just outside of K'tch's quarters, a shadow by his door sank back slowly, the older warrior's eyes wide. All this time, he'd been worried about Tzukra getting too close, when in reality it was his best warrior, K'tch who had taken the initiative. He sighed. K'tch did always have a thing for the females that stood up to him, the strong ones... but for the sake of the hunt, they were usually the right species...

He chuckled quietly to himself as he turned away, heading for his own room. Tzukra had been getting suspiciously close to the woman, seeming interested in courting her. He'd heard about their scuffle over the woman a few days ago, finding it funny. At first, it appeared as though the woman had taken to Tzukra. But he was wrong. Still, the woman was fairly frightened of him, but as he now knew, had warmed up to K'tch...finally.. And K'tch...he'd set his dear pride aside, given in to instinct and had finally silenced his inner turmoil by mating with her. How, he'd never quite know. Regardless, they still hadn't heard back from Tzukra yet, the youngest warrior now prisoner of the humans on the surface. The longer he sat back, the more complicated things seemed to become. You couldn't just make this shit up back on the homeworld. He grunted with delight. Oh...things were just getting better and better...!


	19. Lab Violation

Their actions were being monitored by men in suits, men with badges and honors lining the lapels of their dark uniforms. This was now a military operation. He could just barely hear their voices before he had gone back under. 

_If you're ready we'll deliver it now.._

_We don't have a scanner of the right proportions for specimen 0882..._

_Is this what we need? _

_We're preparing the capsule... Get the truck... Don't forget the combination... These don't apply..._

From there everything had gone blank before he found himself blinking slowly as a light attached to the end of small stick was shone into his eyes. This time he awoke in a room surrounded by the soft creatures with the masks.

There was something frighteningly scientific about the way they treated him. He hadn't been allowed to move much for the first few hours in his new cold and sterile surroundings, the thick restraints on his arms and legs keeping him fairly immobile.

Keeping track of time had been rather hard he noted as his vision undulated. They'd drugged him again. .. Heavily this time and the feeling was actually making him nauseous. At least they finished with the large machine that had surrounded his entire prostrate form. It had resembled a tunnel, dark at first until a button was pressed and the interior glowed. They had pushed him through it, twice if he could remember correctly.

He guessed it was some sort of scan, but like most everything else they'd utilized, he could only guess. Once activated it had begun making a strange droning sound, almost like drums, serving only to make the pain in his head worse. It had only lasted a few minutes, but minutes seemed like hours when you were uncomfortable.

From there it had taken three men, three strong men to transfer him from one flat surface and to another, all the while he wished he could move. His vision had darkened momentarily as they wheeled him into the room opposite. 

He could faintly remember the glint of shiny tools coming down over him, vaguely registering the odd metal head-piece that they'd nestled his large cranium between to keep his head still as a man with sharp tools clutched between gloved hands poked at his mandibles, inserting two objects between them and pulling in both directions in order to draw them open. He shut his eyes tight and shook his head a little, unable to do little else. Another man stepped up and together they managed to pry open his mouth. Another person had come forward and he could barely make out their features as they lifted a hand to the interior of his mouth, fastening something strange between his upper and lower jaw to hold it open.

He had little strength to gag as a small thin metal tool with an end that looked like a small spoon was inserted into his mouth, pressing and prodding, a light overhead to give them a better look.

There were many things going on at once. If he focused hard enough he became aware of the smaller hands tracing the net suit across his torso, lifting it just a little with a pair of tweezers and offering a hypothesis concerning its use. If he concentrated harder he could feel as the hands traveled lower, testing the firmness of his flesh.

The actions were soon dismissed as a man holding the thin metal tool in his mouth pressed down on the top of it and released something inside of it down his throat. Immediately he felt his throat relax and numb a little, the sensation making his eyes widen. The strange metal device was removed and was soon replaced by a tube. His urge to gag was suppressed as the tube was pushed into his mouth, the soft plastic-like material sliding farther into the wet cavity and going down his throat. He protested weakly, body jerking in response as he made an oddly choked noise. A woman's voice caught his ear. 

"Shhh…. shh….This won't hurt….Its going to feel weird but just relax. It'll be over before you know it…."

And it was. After several small biopsies the staff had slowly begun to lower in number, various personnel heading into different rooms to exercise their specialty. He didn't know quite how long they'd been poking at him, but he was anxious for it to stop. The tube was removed not too long afterwards, the feeling beginning to return to his throat. Random areas of his body had started to ache an hour after the rather disorienting experience of being explored by so many hands, small soft manufactured pieces of gauze taped over pin-needle sized wounds.  
At one point there was only one person left in the room with him, busy calculating, labeling and in all meaning of the word studying everything pertaining to him. The drugs had finally begun to wear off a little when a shorter masked person walked up to his right, making eye contact with the man on his left.  
"They want a sample as soon as he's ready." 

The masked man nodded quickly as he tightened the creature's restraints.

"Yeah, I heard. They're anxious to chart reproductive information. I'll bet if they could, they'd try to manufacture more like him…. They've been heavy into defense these past few years…." The man shook his head, finishing tightening the restraints on the creature's legs before glancing back up at the woman. 

"Are they makin' you do the dirty work?" he inquired, voice raising in genuine curiosity.

She cleared her throat, shrugging her shoulders. 

"Guess so… Make sure those straps are really tight. I've got little more than half an hour to figure out how to gather a sperm sample.."

She quietly wondered just what it was about her that she was always elected to do the job that no one else wanted. From the days of her training she recalled that it was always her who had been chosen to collect the saliva samples from the canines, the mucosa samples from the lab monkeys and the venom samples from the reptiles. And now…. she thought with a bit of worry, she'd be collecting a sperm sample from a creature completely foreign to her and unfortunately very hideous.

The man across from her removed the contraption that had been holding the creature's head still, checking the arm restraints once more before standing back.

"Do yall need some privacy?" he chuckled.  
The woman glared at him from over her mask. "David…I am so not in the mood for your humor. Why don't I just tell Ben that you'd rather do it instead.."  
The laughter immediately died down as the man headed for the exit in the far corner.  
"Nah, that's okay. Buzz me if you have any problems…" he encouraged as took one last glance back at her before leaving. 

The silence that filled the air was just a little unnerving as the dark-haired woman turned to the creature lying before her, reaching forward with her gloved hand and resting it on the thing's hip. There was no way she could see to undo the strange buckle there. It was several moments before she figured out how to unlock the ridged gear protecting its genitals. She looked up at it once, surprised that it was staring back at her, its severe features blank.

She cleared her throat, speaking more to calm herself than it.

"What I'm doing right now is proceeding to collect a sperm sample from you. If you'll just relax, we can get this out of the way and defense can get off my back about it. Now uh…. I was told that uh…..you were male. Unfortunately, you're not a human male so…..I….ahem….. may need a moment to figure this out…."

He hadn't really thought about what she was saying. He was thoroughly intrigued by the fact that her features were similar to Sharon's. With the exception of falling just a few inches lower, her hair was the same texture as the captured woman's, her voice just a little higher, her build almost exact.

Tzukra blinked in confusion as he felt small fingers gently undoing his loin, peeling it back to expose his genitalia. He made a groan-like noise in protest. 

What the hell was she doing? Her gloved hand rested carefully over the organ and his eyes lit up as he shook his head.

No…

He didn't want them poking and prodding at that. The last thing he needed was for the soft creatures to fuck something up so he couldn't make offspring in the future…. She drew her hand up and down the length, trying hard to hide her aversion.

Why was it always her….

She'd had one lover in her past, just one…and there were a few thing's she'd learned that a man liked. She bit her bottom lip. This thing in no way resembled her lover, but it was male, it was more humanoid than animal….

She shook her head, wishing there were a manual. She knew little about the powerful creature splayed out before her, much less how to excite it.

She sighed.

Well, she might as well give it a try…

* * *

He'd had to practically nab any information regarding the new subject from the man standing at the large blank entrance to the grey windowless building. The metal beams lining the front reflected a faint blue from the darkening sky. 

Gary sighed as the man with the gun stepped aside and the door opened inward.

His gun and badge had done little for him here, the only thing left for him to rely on being Jones's name and Garber's authority. He wouldn't be allowed to see the creature until the stern woman with the bright eyes and auburn hair had begun to question it. 

Ha.. question it…. like it was a human.

According to sources, they were quickly wrapping up the last of the experiments for the day and he would be allowed to watch the interrogation from behind a two-way mirror. Of course, the thing would be restrained. His nerves danced with a child-like anticipation. He couldn't wait to meet the bastard responsible for so much commotion. The one that Jones had caught had gotten away before he'd had a chance to meet it, the day of his scheduled visit cut horribly short by its escape.

He swallowed as Garber led him through a series of small hallways before they paused at the entrance to a stark white elevator. The radio on his hip beeped and he pulled it from its strap quickly, pressing a small red button on its side.

"This is Garber over to management, how are we doing?"

There was a slight static pause before the voice on the other end spoke.

"The medical team has just finished the last experiment. The subject has been transported to the basement observatory."

"Excellent."

"We're ready for you and the Chief. Proceed to level E."

Garber smiled.

Finally….

* * *

Tzukra had still been in the process of catching his breath when they had begun to move him, down the dim hall and into a dimmer room. Their actions made little sense to him. They'd been studying him ever since he arrived, their movements quick and efficient. They had said little to him during the exams and then suddenly everyone had left. Instead of subject him to more machines, the dark-haired female had made a mockery of mating with him, the reason for her actions still beyond him... 

His eyes rolled with confusion as he was strolled into the corner of this new room and a button was pressed on the side of the surface he lay on. It immediately began to shift, the back lifting him to a sitting position, area beneath his knees folding down so that he was sitting straight up in his restraints.

In this room, they had attached several strange and small things to him, a tall dark-haired man in black standing beside the equipment to monitor it. The air in this room seemed different…or rather tense. He could feel as though something were about to happen…something he didn't like.

There was silence for about fifteen minutes before the door to the left opened, brighter light streaming across the tiled floor. The shadow of a woman filled it before the door closed behind her. The next sound was familiar, heels clanking against the floor in a pattern.

The voice too, was familiar.

"Good evening…." the woman smiled.

He understood her greeting, unsure of what to make of it. He didn't trust her. Something begged him not to.

"First things first…" she crossed her arms. "Who are you?"

Tzukra studied her for a moment, her right heel beginning to tap in impatience as she repeated the question.

"Who. Are. You…." her voice was louder.

The young warrior's brows drew down as he debated answering her, wondering if it mattered if she knew his name or not.

She stepped closer to him, leaning forward.

"I said….Who…are….you?"

He opened his tired mouth slowly.

"Tzukra….."

The woman's eyes widened for just a moment at the sound of the voice and she stepped back.

"That's better. Now, tell me Tzukra…how did you get here?"

He shook his head slightly. He wasn't willing to discuss anything about both himself or his devices. He needed to contemplate when next he could get a signal out. 

The middle-aged woman sighed. I'm only going to ask you one more time.

"How. Did. You. Get. Here?"

His thoughts had already been on the ship, wondering if his party had set the coordinates for his location yet already. That's when his thoughts were cut short by a pain he was not accustomed to. All he knew was that he felt as though he were on fire, every cell in his body screaming for relief. A cry of pain was caught in his throat as a switch was flipped and the pain ceased. His breathing was deep, chest heaving as his thoughts scrambled to figure out what the hell was going on.

"Painful enough for you?" the agent cocked her head sweetly. Tzukra coughed once, anxious to burst from his restraints and rip her head off. Fuck having no weapons, he had hands, an iron grip and a temper on the verge of boiling over. She wouldn't stand a chance….

He wasn't allowed to indulge in the pause for long as another wave of pain coursed through him and his muscles tightened, back arching as he groaned. Once again, it was halted.

"I can do this all day…" she chose to declare. "I'd prefer not to, but I will unless you give me the answers I need."

Tzukra took a few deep controlled breaths, the sound of her voice grabbing his attention.

"Now……. You're going to tell me how old you are…"

He knew his exact age, something many of his kind didn't care about. He'd known warriors who were around his age, or near the age of his brother, but no one bothered to keep a numbered tab on too much of anything other than how many trophies you owned…

In human years, he was young, the equivalent of an 18 year old male. K'tch was a very experienced and head-strong 34 and Arug'rak a wise and strong 51. These were the types of numbers that they would expect, the type of life-spans that the soft creatures were used to. He knew about the charted behavior of those in his age-group. They were known as rash and their actions attributed to their youth. He didn't want that title. Instead, he spoke the number of his literal age and not the equivalent, slightly amused by the amount of excitement that filled the woman's features.

"Three-hundred…."

Her eyes briefly glanced to the man standing behind him at the controls, his face mirroring her intrigue.

"That's a pretty long time to be a murderer….." she concluded. Tzukra merely watched her as she paced once before coming to stand before him.

"……The others…. tell me where they are."

It took a moment for him to understand her. It didn't matter in the end as he turned his gaze away from her, refusing to answer.

Did she think she could just inquire about his kind? No. There were rules. There were things that the humans were allowed to know and things that they weren't. The whereabouts of a hunting party was never revealed to the prey.

The woman looked up at his silence, motioning to the man behind him.

"Garber, set it to level 7…."

The man swallowed. They hadn't gone beyond level 5 with the first one and even that had had the desired effect.

This time several switches were flipped and the creature in the chair tensed in shock, a roar of agony filling the small space as the pain coursed through him.

This time, his vision darkened.

* * *

He'd come by quietly to take him from the human female as she slept soundly, getting a kick out of their arrangement. The way she was curled up against him, head resting against his chest and arm about his torso was funny. You were lucky if a female from the home world looked twice at you after mating.It had taken him a moment to gather his wits, thoughts still hazy from the interruption of much anticipated sleep. He could already guess what it was about, even as he was led down the hall and to the control room. He hadn't realized the severity of the situation until Arug'rak finished bringing up the monitor, his back to him as he filed a progress report. K'tch was merely standing in the entrance when the older warrior leaned back against what looked like a desk, right arm idle as his left thumb hooked into the belt around his waist, dark eyes meeting his. 

Before he could inquire, his superior spoke.

"Aid Tzukra," he then motioned to the monitor behind him.

He nodded.

"Yes..."

The information that the monitor suddenly flashed made his eyes widen. According to the last scan, Tzukra's life-signs had flickered. That was enough information for him to act on. Whether his brother wanted to be rescued or not, K'tch would be going in after him. They couldn't afford to lose anymore from his blood-line.  
Despite appearances, Tzukra wasn't a pushover and was actually quite strong. Whatever the humans had done to cause his life-signs to nearly fail had to have been pretty devastating. 

He groaned. He was actually enjoying his sleep. Oh well, Sharon would just have to deal with his sudden absence.

* * *

About an hour later and Arug'rak charted the woman's movements about the ship. 

She had become increasingly concerned, her fear so strong he could smell it. No doubt, her feelings were aimed at the warrior he'd sent below. K'tch had suited up rather quickly, anxious for a little bloodshed. It hadn't been too long before Sharon moved from his quarters, curious to know where he'd gone.

It was rather entertaining how human females became attached. He'd known for a fact that K'tch had despised her initially, his progress reports every bit condescending. If the woman could only read half of the stuff he'd written pertaining to her, she'd have probably refused to help him. He briefly imagined what it would be like to court a human female. His brow muscles drew down. Ugh... such soft and weak creatures... what the hell was K'tch thinking.

He was just on his way to his quarters when he was surprised to see the female already coming back down the hall toward him looking quite distressed. She was upset, worry in her voice but her vulnerability made her cautious.

"Oh, its you... Arugurak?" she questioned.

He nodded slightly. Very slightly...

"Did K'tch leave to get Tzukra?" she continued.

He nodded once more, about to turn his back to her before her small voice halted him.

"Is he alright?" she said quickly, anxious to keep his attention. He surprised her by shrugging his shoulders, reaching forward and grabbing her by the chin not too roughly, but not quite gently either. She froze for a moment, wondering if she'd done something to offend the abnormally cross creature. He turned her face from left to right slowly, peering into her features for several moments. After piecing out the thoughts racing through her head she finally found her voice. 

"Is there something wrong with my face?" she asked.

He was quiet as he trailed one long thick finger against the side of her face, stopping just above the collarbone. The silence combined with her curiosity was too much to bear and she couldn't help but voice her concern.

"Why are you studying me? You never touched me before, much less even acknowledged that I exist. Now that you're the only one here I'm suddenly visible?"

There was more silence.

"I don't have to speak your language to know that you don't like me for whatever barbaric reasons... Probably something stupid if I'm right. I bet I remind you of an ex of yours who burned down your mud hut and took all of your brats to shack up in a cave with a man holding a bigger club..."

If K'tch had been there, he'd have probably closed his mouth tight to suppress a chuckle.

Arug'rak growled, or purred, not exactly threatening.

"Geez, man..." she held still as his hand moved to her throat, her voice becoming softer with fear. "What are you trying to figure out?"

He stepped back slowly, releasing her as his dark eyes remained calm. For the first time since she'd met him he spoke to her, his words quick and rough...muttered as if the very action of speaking her language were a disgusting ordeal.

"What...he sees..in you..."

Her eyes narrowed defensively. His voice was just as grouchy and caustic as his glare. She raised her voice just a little, shocked as she replied:

"Something you obviously all lack..."

It was Arug'rak's turn to narrow his eyes, making a rough sounding noise of displeasure as he turned his back to her, swaggering calmly back down the hall and toward the control room. He turned partially after several steps, glancing at her over his right shoulder and staring at her for a moment in thought. He could have her come too. Just this time... In the event that K'tch needed help, there would be no one left to watch the ship and there was one procedure for an emergency he thought she might benefit from.

After making his decision, he motioned for her to come with him. She looked behind herself in shock, assuming he couldn't possibly be talking to her. Finding no one, she turned back to him, pointing to herself.

"Me?"

He nodded once more, this time with an impatient grunt as he repeated the gesture with a little more force.

"Okay..." she scratched her head as she began to follow him tentatively.


	20. Let the Blood Bath Begin

Warning: Graphic Violence, disturbing scenes...

* * *

"You ugly son-of-a-bitch," the chief ground out as he leaned close to Tzukra's face. There was no mistaking the older man's animosity toward him, even though the young hunter had done little to warrant it. "We're gonna get your little friends," he warned, tone decisive. "We're gonna catch all of you ugly bastards and show you a little somethin'. You don't stand a chance, ya hear me?" Tzukra blinked slowly with fatigue. He heard the stout human loud and clear. Too loud, actually. If he hadn't been in so much pain, he'd have told him to shut the fuck up and then punched him square in his round, flushed face. Gary was no mind-reader, but even if the aging chief had been privy to this information, he would not have cared. "We're gonna lock your ass up, ya know? You and your murderous comrades...That big one I heard of? That one that got help from a little girl from around here before blowin' up government property, that one that killed quite a few good people, really good people... We're gonna get his ass too..." he nodded with a smug look. 

Tzukra blinked twice. Did he mean K'tch? He sighed in annoyance, mentally thanking him in sarcasm. Every time he turned around, it seemed he was taking the heat for something the arrogant daredevil had done. Good grief...

The warrior had a terrible habit of setting standards. He supposed he should have been grateful that they had encountered K'tch and not Arug'rak. Had that been the case, things would probably have gone a lot of differently. He knew Arug'rak well. The hunter reveled in a good hunt an didn't care who got in his way. Arug'rak didn't have the patience for communication in the least. If he had gone to take care of the lab's bug problem they would be long gone by now. Its likely that he would have never even run into the small female named Sharon. Even if he had somehow managed to cross paths with her, he wouldn't have even bothered giving her the time of day. If anything, she'd have ended up as bait.

Tzukra's eyes became heavily lidded. Enough about what could have been. K'tch had been the one dispatched to take care of the experimental xenomorphs that the humans had been tampering with and he had. Only, he'd gotten caught up with that woman and her kind in the process. Damn his decisions. He could only hope that the determined warrior was on his way...

* * *

He came in from the side after scanning the perimeter. There were people littered around the entire base, men with large guns and even larger egos taking round the clock shifts. After comparing the numbers, he'd concluded that his entry would be more effective from the side. There had been only two men stationed in the woods close to the side entrance. 

This was going to be a cake-walk...

* * *

The first man had been drawn away from his partner by something as simple as nature's call, wandering a little way from his post as he found some decent foliage and quickly answered it. Night had fallen, but it was still uncomfortably warm. The man dabbed beads of sweat from his brow before tucking himself back behind the rough material, the sharp hiss of a zipper the only sound in the dark woods. He had little time to enjoy the feeling of a bladder newly emptied when the invisible creature crept up behind him. K'tch struggled to quiet his pleasure as he aimed his blades down over at a spot in the back of the man's neck. The man had merely lifted his gaze at the unsettling feeling of being watched when his body suddenly went limp, K'tch driving the blades through him at a vital angle. He sighed as he the let the body collapse beneath him, pulling his bloodied blades back. That had been too quick. He selected his kills carefully, and whenever possible, he thoroughly enjoyed them. 

He took his precious time with the second man, indulging utterly in the human's demise. The second man's death had been quick, but not terribly so, he noted as he finally dug his wrist blades into the man's torso. The man's eyes had gone wide as he uncloaked himself before the gun's faint blue search-light. He could hear the soft meaty parting of flesh, feel the scrape of bone being sliced by his blades, even smell the acrid scent of stomach juices as they splattered onto the trunk of the tree in arches, dripping down to mix with fresh blood. He felt rejuvenated by the feeling of pride that accompanied a successful kill.

This pleasure that he was so addicted to he had to remind himself was reserved only for those deemed honorable prey. For a creature as great as himself, it was only logical to avoid wasting such power on the weak. Only those worthy enough of his strength and skill would be allowed to die by it.

He paused as a message flashed across the screen before his eyes. According to the update, Arug'rak had shown his female an emergency procedure, which meant he was almost certain that he'd be needing his help. So, his little female had grasped a complicated procedure already? He shuddered in pure delight as he looked down upon the tall grey building at the exit of the woods, unsure if the wave of arousal that washed over him had more to do with Sharon or the thought of more bloodshed.

It didn't matter. After handling the annoying matter at hand and retrieving his captive clan member, he would be anxious to mate with her once again. He purred. She had provided an immense amount of pleasure. He had to consciously divert his thoughts as he turned toward his destination. First things first. He had a job to do. His vision zoomed in on the entrance to the building, lingering over the two guards posted.

He bet almost anything that he would be sporting at least two wonderful trophies by the time he got to Tzukra..

* * *

The interrogation hadn't stopped for at least another hour, although there was a peculiar block of time that remained a mystery. There were several minutes before he regained consciousness that he simply could not account for. After nearly two hours, the agonizing pain that had hit him on what felt like a cellular level had ceased. The voices questioning him had already stopped. It had been quiet long before he realized it, the ringing in his ears drowning out the quiet. He had never felt so terrible in his entire life. His whole body ached, muscles fatigued and head pounding like he'd never believed possible. He reached up to hold his head in concern, vision swimming before his tired eyes. An unfamiliar weight tugged at his arms.He groaned softly in pain as he looked around, noting that he was alone in this dark room, chained most primitively to a table. As he slowly dragged his vision from left to right, he realized that the lines that made up the right corner of the room shifted. To the untrained human eye it was an effect equivalent to the distortion caused by excessive heat. 

Was he imagining things?

Under normal circumstances that was highly unlikely, but seeing as how the slightest movement made him feel as though someone had taken a hammer to his skull, he concluded that there was a first time for everything. His senses unexpectedly caught the scent of someone very familiar just as his vision began to adjust to the figure. Wow, he was really in bad shape if he was smelling things too. There was a soft grunt that he didn't remember making before a figure suddenly uncloaked before his very eyes, confirming his suspicion just as his eyesight returned fully. He jolted visibly at how close he had been, his older sibling raising the muscle where his brow would be. K'tch shook his head at the very un-warrior like behavior. Without a word, he slashed through his brother's binds, the young warrior quickly rising to his feet before collapsing against him.

K'tch's eyes rolled behind his mask, thanking the powers that allowed him to hunt that no one from a rival clan was there to see his kin looking beat, dazed, startled and less-than glorious.

He slung the warrior's right arm around his neck before grasping his left, Tzukra trying his best to hold himself up as K'tch pulled a small syringe from the folds of his armor , pressing a button on the side of it to extend the needle. Without warning, he jabbed it into his brother's upper arm, the young warrior making a noise of surprise. Quickly, he injected the experimental formula the ship's computer had devised. Based on the data that Tzukra had managed to transmit prior to his capture, both he and Arug'rak had been able to finish his work and prepare several injections to counter the man-made tranquilizers. They couldn't both afford to be subdued and captured and again… 

After injecting him, he discarded the syringe in a corner and opened the small panel on the device attached to Tzukra's left arm. There was always a way, he mused as he keyed in passwords, overriding certain programs before manually activating the smaller hunter's camouflage. Tzukra's head merely hung there as he let him help. K'tch knew what he was doing and that's all that mattered.

Regardless of the fact that the device was attached to his arm, K'tch was still in charge of it and knew both the passwords and the system well enough to get around certain procedures. After closing it, he paused to take a moment to do the same with his own. Seconds later he was cloaked once more. A little signal went off in the bottom left hand corner of the vision of his mask. As expected, several heavily armed individuals were headed his way, finally catching up with him. It was likely they had found the bodies by now, their first objective to secure Tzukra's cell.

It was definitely time to get going.

* * *

"You moron!" Agent Jane shouted as she finished strapping the holster in place. "Don't let him leave this facility! We've just barely begun our objective!" 

Quick shouting was heard through the walkie-talkie as she continued. "Bring everything you've got, do you hear me?! Bring the guns, the tranquilizers, the smart missiles, the grenades, the lasers and back-up, Chief! We're not letting them escape! We can't afford to let them escape this time! Tell your men to stand guard and use infrared to track him. I'm sure the bastard is cloaked! Seek him out and bring him down for real this time!"

She cut the signal quickly just as another agent entered the room in full gear.

"What's the problem!" she barked bitterly.

"The cameras are sensing the movements of two cloaked figures," he spoke quickly.

The woman's eyes widened.

One had blown up Weyland's base facility after eluding top security. A shiver ran down her spine. Imagine what two could accomplish….

That was reason enough for her to panic.

She shook her head, ripping the walkie-talkie from its case and activating the signal once again.

"Agent Corriano, position the C2 Prototype at the back entrance…."

The man's words seemed to be caught before she added harshly, " Just do it!"

In only a moments time, there was the sound of heavy gunfire echoing through the intercoms scattered through out the labs.

* * *

His best warrior had been on the mission for only about two very drawn out hours when the message came. Sharon had been sitting at the controls nervously, feeling like a seven year old in daddy's favorite chair as she sat on the edge of the large L-shaped seat, Arug'rak towering over her. He was really big.. 

She had just begun to think that everything would be just fine when a strange sort of hollow beeping sounded. Arug'rak quickly pressed a button on the left side of the screen and K'tch's rough voice was heard. Sharon cleared her throat as she listened to the language that was so frustratingly strange, it almost made her want to cover her ears. After listening to them on and off for a time, she'd concluded on her own that many of the words in their tongue were composed of repeat syllables. The best way she could describe it would be like a monstrous voice on a broken record. Their words seemed to skip or click at least three times in a row for some words. After the initial wonder, it could become really annoying to listen to.. really fast..

Arug'rak laughed quietly at one point before continuing, Sharon watching his mandibles work as he spoke, wondering what the words meant. Arug'rak's voice was impossibly low as he carried on.

"Guruku, guruku," _click click click_, "Zikla Ah gakekeke…."_click click_…

She frowned in disappointment as he suddenly cut the connection. That was one language she'd never remember how to say hello in... She watched curiously as his slow mannerisms finally picked up some energy as he hurried quickly out of the control room.

* * *

That was the last straw, Arug'rak decided. He'd sat back and watched his clan members bumbling mistakes for entirely too long. It was time to take matters into his own hands. 

His much more capable hands...

He realized with a certain amount of longing that he genuinely missed the rush of the kill, the exertion of the hunt.

His small crew had fucked everything up enough for his tastes. It was about time that a challenge worthy enough presented itself... a challenge that he simply could not ignore. He would gracefully storm a human facility swarming with guards and formidable technology. His two crew members were trapped within, one in worse shape than the other but both still not out of harm's way.

Those were his kind of odds.

Finally, the fighting he'd been waiting for.

He laughed quietly as he finished strapping the last piece of equipment he desired to his belt. He had found a place beneath the skull on his hip to house a second disc, spear retracted and strapped to his back, whip on his right hip, plasma caster awaiting any action and various other devices just itching to cause some serious damage...

Let the blood bath begin...

* * *

It was safe to say that his caution was well-warranted when it came to the possibility of involving Arug'rak in a mission of any kind. It was plausible to be concerned not about the prey's life, but yours. K'tch swallowed as he remembered the fight on a green planet nearly a century ago where the oldest warrior had been so caught up in the battle that without missing a beat, he'd be-headed a promising acquaintance. By no means had it been intentional, but it still bothered him to think about it. By the older warrior suggesting that he provide a distraction on the opposite wing while clearing out as much of this building as he possibly could, he was less-likely to find himself in a similar more careless sort of danger from such a distance. 

Humans occasionally wounded his kind with their technology and their adrenaline induced confidence, but they were mere wounds that were easily taken care of. There was no such thing as a wound to Arug'rak. The wounded were a sign of a job unfinished. The strongest warrior didn't wound. He killed. He killed with an effortless sort of abandon that could make any warrior think twice about even throwing a glance in his direction, much less approaching him... Perhaps that was why he hadn't been found at fault for that accidental death. Many a hunter were just too fearful of him to bother questioning it…

* * *

_He had programmed the ship's computer to link with his helmet so that Sharon could see the battle. If he'd only been concerned about her weak stomach, he'd have remembered to put the multi-purpose bucket closer to the chair to catch the contents of her stomach…_

Sharon watched in shock as a head, still helmeted, rolled across the floor with surprising momentum, the sound of it crashing into the wall adjacent creating a disturbingly dull knock through the microphone….

He had gone through several men like a hot knife through butter before activating his camouflage once more and leaping behind the largest of the group. Taking his head had been several times more exciting than he could have ever imagined. He had been out of the field for entirely too long.

There was an initial pop of a joint being disconnected as he simply grasped him with inhuman force, right hand around the man's neck. left applying pressure to his shoulder as he literally ripped the head from the torso. He wished to imprint the site of major arteries stretching like weak vines before snapping into his memory. He desperately wanted to remember the initial crunch, a sound that resembled the breaking of the stiff waxy skin of a hard fleshy fruit as the vertebrae cracked apart. Despite the effort, he simply tossed the severed head to the man behind him, almost as if he'd casually tossed him a pack of cigarettes. Reflexes prevailed as the man involuntarily caught it between two trembling gloved hands, screaming in terror and disgust. Arug'rak paid him literally no mind as he turned and sliced another man that was headed for him, vertically, pausing for a moment just to watch the two halves convulse and then collapse to the floor in a crimson heap.

The smell of blood was soon thick in the air.

_She'd never even seen the oldest warrior move so fast. Somehow watching it on screen made it less real. It could have almost been a gory movie.._

His movements in battle were almost like a dance. A dance of death. He turned fluidly, blades of his right hand outstretched as a torso was sent flying in the opposite direction of its legs. He spun and ducked as another soldier descended upon him. He thrust his blades up as the man leapt over him, impaling him through the stomach before flinging the body into a corner. His gaze shot up at about the exact same time as two more men began to approach, bullets whizzing over his head. The plasma caster attached to his shoulder put a stop to that in a split second as it fired, blazing a trail straight through the man's heart as well as the arm of the man behind him. Only one screamed. 

He launched himself into the air, coming to land on one of the fallen soldier's torsos, flattening it like a pancake and sending shards of shattered rib and ripped muscle several yards across the room. He bent his knees once more, leaning down a little before straightening them and leaping back from where he came, the man holding the first soldier's head still staring and screaming, deaf to anything but the weight of the head he still grasped. Arug'rak refused to waste anymore time with him, grabbing his spear and thrusting it through the man's back before flinging his body into the air, jumping and rolling to a stand before reaching up and catching head the man had been holding. He cocked his head as he admired his much-anticipated trophy, grunting as the other soldier's body landed with a thud near the entrance.

Without a second thought, he impaled it most gruesomely to a crescent-shaped hook at his hip, forcing the sharp end up through the roof of the mouth and out one of the dark eyes. That would keep him from losing it. His glanced over his shoulder and down at the other three he had collected along the way. He would be just about two skulls away from having a full skull belt if he kept this up.

Just as he'd rolled away from the center of the action, a dozen shots rang out as several more soldiers filed into the room. Ohhh he felt himself stiffen beneath the armor cupping his genitals at the thought of more bloodshed…

"Take it down! Take it down, now!" angry voices muffled through walkie-talkies hollered as he approached. Some screamed as they went down, others heads went rolling across the blood-streaked floor with a look of shock frozen on their faces. A few bulging eyes had been hidden behind goggles and face masks, but it was all still frightening just the same.

Arug'rak leapt through them all, those without the sense to move aside simply trampled as he jerked his left shoulder forward and jumped, crashing through plaster and concrete as he knocked down the wall blocking his path. He was on a roll as he paced himself, releasing a laugh so terrible it sent images of being huddled in the corner of your bed room at the tender age of five, deathly afraid of the monster that you always believed was in your closet but were always assured never existed. Grips on guns tightened, muscles stiffening as the creature penetrated their best defenses, laughing a laugh so dark that it chilled the men straight to the bone. They were all five again, some shaking with a deep-rooted fright, sweat dripping into their eyes as they beheld the giant humanoid….

It was like your most feared child-hood monster had not only slowly and silently slipped out of the closet, but it had locked the door. It had spotted you as you sat crying and terrified in the corner. Tears meant nothing to it as it approached. It had a one-track mind and an insatiable lust for violence. No matter what anyone said, you knew that it was intent on doing one thing. Destroying you and you only in the bloodiest manner possible... Only this time, no matter how many lights you flicked on, it simply didn't disappear...

If Arug'rak had only known what was going on in the half-insane minds of the men trying to destroy him, he would have laughed even harder...


	21. Perfect Escape

Note: Might take a little more time with the next chapter, in the meantime, there's a nice painting of the characters on the homepage. Warning: Chapter contains disturbing scenes of violence and some sexuality. Enjoy:

* * *

After moving the C2 prototype to the back entrance, a few of the soldiers had felt a sense of relief. It was the relief so intense that it could only be equated to a soldier's experience. Agent Corriano bit his bottom lip as he kept his gun aimed at a spot between the smoldering foliage, dark eyes fixed on the range. After hearing the strict ordering of the C2, some part of him became lax with comfort. That was the exact kind of relief he remembered feeling when back-up had come rearing up behind him in a desert battle overseas. The sand had been sprinkled with blood, the dirt caking and drying into a crusty mixture under the bright sun. He remembered it like it was yesterday. Several of his fellow soldiers had attempted to rush the barricade of enemy troops perched behind the rocky hills ahead. To his horror, they had ended up blown into chunks of flesh, some small enough to be considered bites. Sure enough, that day he'd convinced himself that he was a goner and had even finished saying his last prayers when he'd heard the purr of strong new engines. He'd turned, peering over his shoulder to spot about half a dozen tanks climbing the slopes, the wheels kicking up enough ground to leave sandy clouds in their wake. 

The dark-haired man sighed. He reveled in that feeling as he turned his thoughts toward the present. With a smile, he blinked, adjusting his night-vision goggles. He was beginning to think that with the slight sliver of dawn on the horizon, he wouldn't be needing them soon at all anyway. Perhaps the C2 would turn the situation around, many pondered as the thickly built robot-like weapon stood guard. It looked more like a toy to him than a weapon, the large cube like extensions reminding him of squat little action figure made of metal building blocks with a humorously round head shielded by an equally humorous-looking helmet. Its arms ended in rounded weaponry, barrels large enough to fire something the size of a cannonball. Now that the government could see that they needed more than just a few rash men with guns, they might have a shot at doing this right. They just needed something, anything at all to even the odds…

* * *

After crashing through another concrete wall, he'd dived into a roll before hurrying to his feet. He'd not only managed to give K'tch the time he needed to make a break for it, he'd also left his signature, a trade-mark explosive within the center of the facility, set to go off in less than several minutes. He'd just finished crashing through the back door when his scanner picked up the signal of a weapon locking onto him and he jerked his gaze in that direction just in time to notice the missile-shaped bullet headed straight for him.

He immediately jumped out of the way as another shot past him, exploding into the woods beyond with a thunderous boom. Several humans were standing guard among the entrance to the woods straight ahead, guns aimed on him, strangely unaffected by the tremor of the explosion nearly a block behind them. He chuckled, grabbing the disc from his right hip as he dove for cover behind an armored dumpster. All he needed to do was clear a path to the woods, mainly by sweeping away the humans littered around the perimeter. 

The gunfire continued, many afraid of what would happen if the bullets stopped. It was like a game. The longer they kept shooting, the longer they could delay being faced with the score. It was the exact same mentality behind fighting a losing game. If they kept the game going, maybe, just maybe there'd be a chance that they could somehow still win…

The soldiers were firing still when a disc-shaped object spinning a dozen times faster than a centrifuge darted out from where the creature had hidden. It effectively sliced through five men one after the other in an assembly-line of blood and destruction, leaving scattered appendages and shredded bloody clothing in its wake before returning as though summoned back toward the dumpster. Eyes bulged as the creature quickly rose and caught it like a boomerang. That he was even able to command such a weapon was morbidly fascinating. 

It hooked the smart disc back to a spot it somehow located on its waist between the gory trophies that were dangling unabashed from the belt, some of them still dribbling blood down his hip and thigh. The large robotic creation in the corner suddenly began to move with an eerie hum of the engines encased within it. It suddenly fired several both high velocity missiles and bullets, one catching the tall warrior in the shoulder as he leapt out of the way and behind a nearby tree trunk, gritting his teeth. To his surprise and anger, it actually managed to put a dent in the armor. He cursed to himself. The metallic alloy that he had custom made for his armor was a bitch to get dents out of… Sighing, he reached back and drew forth his combination spear, quickly pressing a key in the side of it that extended it to an impressive and very spiked several feet. His mandibles quickly poked at the controls in his mask as he adjusted his vision to spot the robot. He scanned his surroundings once more. 

There were only three humans in his way, one machine and three approaching from a side entrance to his right. He growled in pleasure as he looked down at his belt. 

How many more heads did he have room for? 

* * *

Agent Jane screamed into her walkie-talkie as she was escorted by military to a side entrance. Nearly all non-combat trained personnel had been ordered to evacuate. Her blood boiled beneath her pale skin. A blind man could tell that the abnormally tall and fierce creature with the devil's voice was winning. It was not only winning, but kicking their asses, to their embarrassment, with little to no effort.

All of that time, all of that effort and money. Their best technology had been reduced to scrap one prototype at a time. The tranquilizers were having zero effect and two of the aliens had already practically escaped. Knowing this, she was still convinced that she could make a difference. If only she knew how wrong she was… She frowned. After all, she'd captured one before. Reports were that the new one being cornered at the back entrance was significantly bigger than their earlier captive. 

She smirked. What was that old saying? The bigger they are, then the harder they fall….

* * *

He'd just finished checking inventory when he realized that he was being targeted once more. He simply threw himself to the ground as the rotted wood above his head exploded, splinters of wood flying as it cracked with the force of the missile's impact. With little left for balance it creaked eerily as it was sent crashing to the ground. In the commotion Arug'rak had jumped onto the rising roots and started down the trunk, running the length of it down as it fell towards the C2, the robot's programming dancing between its safety in the trunk's size and targeting the alien. The tree was more important as it shifted to safety. 

That was all the distraction the strong warrior needed as he wasted no time in putting his extemporaneous plan into action. The plasma caster on his right shoulder fired once, hitting the robot square in the face, searing a hole straight through it and three trees. The robot paused. At that same moment he'd thrown his disk once more to take out the two men closing in before turning his attention back toward the machine. He flipped out of the foliage of the downed tree, his body a blur followed by a rain of dried leaves as he launched his spear into the robot's center. He kept on running as the livewire crackled, small devices within it exploding and beginning to smoke as he hurried toward it. The large equipment began to convulse and it made a strange sputtering noise as it began to fall back. 

One minute he was on the ground, the next he was in the air, catching his smart-disc with ease just seconds before flipping forward. There was a loud thump as Arug'rak landed on the C2's torso, quickening its fall as he pulled his spear from it, snapping a mass of colorful wires and leaving the jumbled damage of sparking cables and circuitry behind. His masked eyes caught the fair gaze of the woman standing shocked at the building's corner and he stood up triumphantly over the defeated weapon. Pausing just long enough to enjoy her whimpers of fright. The men at her side had immediately drawn their weapons in practice, only he was quicker. There was a blinding flash of pale light and the man on the right was gone, his brains littering the ground beyond. The individual to the woman's left looked up just in time to see the creature several yards closer. He jolted as something hard, sharp and tight wrapped around his torso, pinning his arms as he dropped his gun. 

Seconds later, his torso was lying opposite his legs. Arug'rak yanked back his dark whip before snapping it forward a second time, catching the woman left around her waist. Everything she'd worked so hard to attain and maintain would suddenly be over and there'd be little to show for it. In that brief moment when her life flashed before her stern eyes she was able to admit the one thing she'd never imagined she could. For the first time ever, she'd lost the game. 

Arug'rak pulled gently at the sharp restraints, stepping back slowly with a snarl. 

The flesh below his waist hardened even further at the sound of the scream that filled the air….

He reached beneath his belt gently, right hand steady on the whip as his left hand closed over his pulsating erection and he squeezed it once, emitting an animalistic growl of pleasure. When he was just about ready to burst he tugged on the whip, the woman screaming louder. 

* * *

Agent Corriano was hot on the trail as he and three other men quickly climbed through foliage. "Targets one and two have breached our defenses and are quickly moving out of range! Target three has completely destroyed the C2 prototype and disappeared into the woods!" "General Sumner has ordered all available personnel in possession of a C4 flamethrower to form a stage 2 barrier. We need everyone in and out of the woods in five minutes flat! We're gonna smoke the bastards out!"

Arug'rak momentarily adjusted his belt before tying his auburn-haired trophy to the last space on his right hip. Just three more minutes left, the numbers flashing across his mask warned. He shook off the last wave of arousal before making a bee-line toward the safety of the hills beyond.

* * *

Tzukra stumbled weakly as K'tch practically dragged him along. Thick dark smoke mingled with the smell of burning wood and leaves had begun to cloud the air. The smaller warrior huffed behind him before collapsing to one knee with a growl. K'tch stopped at his frustration, turning and jumping to kneel before him. He was in bad shape, chest heaving with labored breaths. He'd been deprived of the nitrogen mix that his lungs had been accustomed to for too long a period of time for someone so young. K'tch himself gone through rigorous conditioning in order to lengthen his dependency on his home world's environment, knowing for a fact that he could survive a week before the feeling of lightheadedness would begin to manifest and he required a mask. Tzukra coughed thrice, hard enough to make the eldest of the two move faster. Beneath his medical supplies was a smaller mask that he detached from the case, pulling the sides back and finding the thick wire needed to pull back as he strapped it to his face. The breathing apparatus stopped just below his eyes, the hard ridged designs on the outside of the dark device resembling a muzzle more than a mask. 

Tzukra sucked in three more breaths, relieved by the technology's efficiency, his body grateful. K'tch watched him cautiously, contemplating on giving him another minute's rest before the heat of the flames blown by an already hot wind licked at his back, reminding him of the danger they had yet to escape. As he quickly hauled the young clan member to his feet, he paused to type a few codes into his wrist device, waiting just seconds for his leader's response. His frown deepened in reaction to the words that scrolled down the left side of his screen. He didn't have to hear the tone behind them to know that they had been urgent as he read them quickly. 

"Rather busy now..." 

He scoffed. There was a shit-load of sarcasm in the words and it made him regret the limitations of their communication. What he wouldn't give to be able to verbally snap at the proudest warrior and get away with it... Instead he typed back, "I've got Tzukra.. Rendezvous behind the third hill, west." 

About thirty seconds later, he received the reply:. 

"Stop talking. Move your ass. There is a bomb…Two minutes."

K'tch grunted as he responded. "Yeah, whatever…"

He was just about to close the connection when it signaled another message that flashed across his screen. 

"I'll tell your female how get us… P.S: I know you're fucking her, and we WILL talk when we get back…."

His eyes became impossibly wide behind his mask, Tzukra tempted to question his long and silent pause before he found himself being yanked along toward an unknown destination.

* * *

Words flashed across the large monitor in her language and she sat up with a start, heart beating fiercely.

"_This is your leader and these are your instructions. To reply, press the long cube-like button on the far right of the control panel. Respond now."_

Carefully, she pressed the button, eyes widening when it refused to budge. She pressed it again with a little more force, trying to squelch the panic that suddenly arose in her gut. What the hell? This wasn't her shit. Why wouldn't the button budge? Was it broken. In that case, they were screwed if they were depending on her. After all of the instruction Arug'rak had given her before he departed, she was still uncomfortable with the controls. She was just about to apply more pressure to the button when the screen beeped, more words scrolling. 

"_That's enough. It's fucking touch sensitive…Idiot…"_

She was too worried to be angry just yet as she waited for the next response. 

"_Now press the round button to the far left of the panel and stand back." _

She hurriedly did as instructed, curious when a small drawer slid out from beneath the panel top. It appeared to be a black keyboard. She approached it cautiously, glancing up at the screen for more instructions before taking a seat. 

"_Press the rectangular button on the top left of the text panel. It will translate the keys. Press enter immediately afterward."_

Sharon licked her lips as she reached out with her left index and pressed the key, praying that she didn't screw anything up. The last thing she needed was to damage something that she had no idea how to fix. Immediately the board lit up, each key resembling a small screen. The strange linear symbols disappeared and up popped new ones. Her eyes nearly bulged as it configured to the arrangement of a typical keyboard, letters and numbers displayed in English. 

"Damn…. That's cool…" she breathed as she simply admired it. 

Another set of words flashed across the screen. She could imagine how they were punctuated as her brows drew down, jaw working angrily as her eyes ran across them. 

_"Hurry the fuck up..."_

"Oooh!" she fumed at Arug'rak's rather rude request, making her face flush with fresh anger. This wasn't her forte, her interest, her life or her duty. He was lucky she cared enough to even listen to him. Quickly, she found the enter button and pressed it. 

"_P.S: Buckle yourself in…."_

The craft suddenly lunged and she raced to find the seat-belt like buckles…

* * *

He'd just made it over the hill when he'd adjusted his vision to find the cloaked ship. It settled carefully over the hill, pushing through a few small trees as though it were merely parting grass before the hatch opened. 

Arug'rak was already approaching from somewhere off to the left, K'tch's eyes wide in shock as several trophies dangled from various parts of his armor, some tied up by their hair, others speared onto the hooks on his sides. Neither looked the other in the eye as all three simply raced up the ramp and into the ship. There was about five seconds left before the explosion, the ship ascending as the first shockwave barely missed it and it shook slightly. 

* * *

Agent Corriano had ignored the feeling in his gut just moments before the end came. He'd just given the signal for back-up to retreat after reporting that the targets had escaped when he looked up and suddenly saw white. That was the last thing his eyes saw before the blast seared the skin off of his bones and reduced them a powdery ash that would be lost to the burning wood and leaves. 

Just seconds earlier about two miles down the road several vehicles were steadily making their escape. 

Gary could barely keep his forehead dry as he pressed a napkin to his flushed face to catch the sweat. He'd looked over at Garber whose expression mirrored his disappointment. The bastards had escaped again and caused even more damage and casualties. He looked to the sky toward the rising sun once more, shoulders sagging as he spoke mentally, thoughts laced with regret. 

It was over. There was no way they could defend against the power that the giant aliens possessed. They'd managed to catch another one and seem to pay sevenfold for the act of defiance committed against it. He shook his head as he prayed to a nameless deity before apologizing. 

"_I'm sorry Jones, buddy….. We just couldn't do it…."_

He didn't have time to blink, let alone light a cigar to comfort himself when the vehicle along with the several trailing behind him were blown from the pavement, tires bursting as they were tossed to the side of the road and exploded, unnatural fire of the bomb consuming them completely.

* * *

The older warrior breathed a sigh of relief. No survivors. Anyone within range was immediately disintegrated. He headed back down toward the control room just in time to miss the commotion. 

Tzukra was just catching his breath from the urgent trek they'd made to the ship when he looked up, only to see K'tch's fist flying toward him. The strong warrior said nothing as he threw his fist toward Tzukra, punching him straight in his left mandible and causing him to lose his balance, momentarily, stumbling. Tzukra coughed, turning to the older warrior angrily, eyes wide in shock wondering what the hell that was for. 

K'tch sneered as he spoke in their language. 

For leaving him stranded with a female in season...

Tzukra shrank back almost sheepishly, having forgotten entirely about that... He coughed, deciding a punch was way better than anything else he knew K'tch could have concocted.� 

* * *

He'd been out of her sight for less than a day, but the danger of the situation, seeing the large machine and watching the rounds of bullets that had likely come his way the duration of the mission still managed to make her breathe a sigh of relief upon his return. He had sauntered down the hall, Tzukra less-graceful as he dragged his sore body down to the treatment room beyond their quarters, knowing he'd be spending the rest of the night and morning there. 

K'tch had glanced at him once, numb to any feeling of guilt whatsoever at having struck him so soon after their ordeal. He shrugged the thought off. He was tougher than he looked... 

His thoughts then turned to Arug'rak who was standing by the end of the hall, watching him, his bloody trophies gone from his hips. He may have been there to help him but he'd still done the work of rescuing Tzukra. He had been the one to infiltrate the base and sneak into his room after stealthily taking out several armed guards. He had been the one to navigate them out of harm's way in order to bring the young hunter back safely. Arug'rak had merely provided the necessary distraction.

He was just commemorating himself silently, gaze averted when he was startled by the feeling of being practically pushed, arms going about his waist, a soft cheek pressing into his chest. 

"Oh... You're soooo lucky to be alive.." Sharon exhaled as she hugged him with a soft smile. A sense of bewilderment was plastered across his face as he looked down at the woman, eyes wide. Lucky to be alive? Was this a joke? He'd been in way worse situations…If permitted, he might be tempted to tell her about some of them…

She sighed with relief, slight smile widening as she looked up at him. 

He opened his mandibles a little, gesturing as he prepared to speak, instead, making a strange babbling noise as if he'd gotten caught in his words, the sound making her give him a questioning look. Her eyes stayed focused on his as she realized that he was confused. With a slight frown, she withdrew her hands far enough to find his wrists, hands closing around them gently as she lifted them and placed his hands up against her shoulders. 

"You're supposed to hug back," she declared flatly. He glanced down at her once more before his gaze shifted to the larger figure standing in the corner, hand on his right hip as he merely waited for him to finish his exchange. 

K'tch swallowed as he rested his hand on Sharon's head in acknowledgment, sifting back through the dark locks once before gently moving her aside to approach his superior. He lifted his gaze slightly as he followed his superior out of the room. It was about time Arug'rak had that talk with him….and he was in no way looking forward to it….


	22. Decision

Warning: Explicit sexual content.. =D some language. 

Her thoughts had been focused entirely on him the duration of the time he had been away, locked in what she could only guess were Arug'rak's quarters.

She was tentative with her time in the early hours following the destruction of the Weyland base. Since K'tch was obviously busy with the oldest warrior, there was little for her to worry about as she wandered the ship. She didn't have to worry about Arug'rak. He wouldn't be scouting the halls this time. She could breathe easy, unconcerned with the possibility that he might run into her and… A shiver ran down her spine….Man-handle her…  
She shook the thought from her mind with distaste.

She yearned to know the story behind the world's biggest, rudest, most insensitive jerk. Like most sentient life, it was likely that he hadn't been born that way.

With a roll of her eyes, the thought of Tzukra came to mind, brightening her mood. An urge to satisfy her concern for the youngest of the alien warriors led her to peer into the treatment room, a small room near the end of the winding tunnel-like corridor with a plain metal door. After pressing the button, pleased that she was allowed entry, she curiously poked her head in, looking both ways before finding the figure lying on a bed to the left. He was lying on his right side facing her under dim lights that seemed to emit a comfortable warmth. Come to think of it, the entire room was surprisingly dim and warm. He was clad only in a dark loin, his shoulders, hips and legs devoid of any armor. With little more than a gaze, Tzukra had quietly greeted her, an odd tube-like device attached to his closed mandibles ruining any attempt at conversation. He stirred a little, the action making the wire that was hooked to his wrist device dangle. He glanced at it once before laying his head back down tiredly as she approached.

"Are you doing okay?" she asked, voice quiet, worried that raising it might somehow cause him discomfort.

He nodded slightly, left hand raising as all of the fingers except his thumb curled into his palm in a familiar gesture that he jerked towards her once, firmly for emphasis.  
In spite of herself, she giggled, amused by his obvious understanding of the action.

His eyes blinked slowly as he lowered the thumbs-up. Of course he was going to be okay. Sore, drained and hungry weren't a recipe for death. He'd be back to normal sooner than she thought. Of course, healing was a minor discomfort. The intensity of the ache his muscles now felt, although currently preventing him from falling asleep, would eventually subside as it had always done in the past.

His eyes widened at the feeling of her soft hand resting on his bare shoulder.

"Well, if you need any help with anything, I'll be around I guess. Ok?"

He nodded, knowing he'd be fine without her help. Her right hand came up to his left mandible before sliding up to his forehead and petting him.

"Aww… I can only imagine what they did to you. Poor guy…"

He grunted, thoroughly amused by her concern. She began to stroke his head down to his locks, pleased when his eyes began to flutter. He found himself shocked as the contact eased his pain and his eyes became heavy with the need to sleep. He purred unconsciously and Sharon had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. In only several moments he'd drifted right off, breaths deep and slow.

It was obvious that her work there was done…

She was careful not to disturb him as she got up and tip-toed to the exit. With one final glance she quietly exited the room, leaving him to rest. Satisfied that despite his apparent ordeal, he was actually alright, her attention had consequently shifted back to the K'tch as she wandered back down the hall. The stern warrior didn't seem too concerned about disclosing the details of their latest mission, a mission that had ended with Tzukra injured and scores of people dead. Her shoulders sagged as she realized she was at the door to the obnoxiously open shower. It slid open at her approach and she stepped into the room, recalling her first impression of it being just another hallway.

During one of her many increasingly long sessions, she'd gone about all dozen yards of its diameter, locating about 6 shower nozzles. She frowned as she peeled off her clothing, wondering if there was ever a time that the shower really was that crowded. If so, it was highly unlikely that she'd allow herself to be one of the bodies crammed into a room with no separate stalls, curtains or cubicles. Basically, a room with pretty much no privacy.

After setting her clothing to the far right, she remembered to stand back as the water splashed out from more than a few feet above her. She briefly wondered if they cared that she used the shower as frequently as she did. After all, it wasn't like she was paying the water bill. After locating the dispenser for the pale goop that lathered nicely, she stepped beneath the water, mind busy with thoughts pertaining to their mysteriously savage culture.

Was this really how this species lived? …Out of technologically advanced ships, returning to Earth every so often to collect trophies? She dreaded to think that K'tch, Tzukra and Arug'rak weren't an exception to their kind. It was likely that the rest of their strange society did the exact same thing. She had to admit, even though the skilled warrior could be dangerously violent, she was becoming more and more, dare she say, attached to the disciplined fighter.

She wasn't quite sure when the change had happened, perhaps that day she'd gotten crazy and pushed him. She looked back on the incident with slight worry, the hormones clouding her judgment all but settled. It had been ridiculously foolish for someone of her stature to down-right provoke an unpredictable creature twice her size, weight and more than skilled in perhaps dozens of ways to kill a being.

She supposed she had to thank her lucky stars that it had ended the way it had, with her bucking beneath him, body heated in a satisfying climax. A blush crept up to her cheeks. It hadn't really occurred to her that he could ever be interested in touching her. Initially she'd been concerned out of shy modesty, but after having been subjected to his crude dismissal of her as any kind of sexual being, she'd eventually dropped the concern. He had been rather rough and terse with her in the past and half the time didn't even appear to take her seriously. In contrast, his handling of her during their last two intimate moments was shockingly gentle. She sighed as her right hand massaged her body under the running water, rubbing her breasts before slowly making its way south.

She could conjure an image of him clearly by now, surprisingly, without the heavy mask he'd worn when they first met. She tried to shake the image. She'd been telling herself since their first encounter that it wasn't right. He was rude, he was ugly and he was violent and for God's sake he wasn't even human.

She released a soft controlled sigh as she put her left hand on the wall to brace herself, right slipping down her stomach and up between her soft cleft, caressing the sensitive flesh as she parted her legs a little more. A wave of arousal washed over her at the memory of his smooth warm body against her, hips rocking into hers.  
He may not have been flaunting great social skills, but what he lacked in verbal communication he more than compensated for with his actions. K'tch knew how to move, how to manipulate his movements against her and excite her until her body was screaming for release.  
She licked her lips, palm undulating against the little sensitive nub nestled near the top of the cleft, fingers sliding against her entrance.

Her brain oooohed, but her lips were sealed, eyes shut tight as she tried to convince herself to stop.

_Come on Sharon, calm down… just calm down.He's not sexy, he's a killer, a misguided beast who would have killed you if you hadn't chosen to help him...Stop this now, before its too late.Let him be…._

With a soft moan she slowly drew her hand away..

* * *

He'd wanted to focus. No, he needed to focus, but his thoughts were on the human female he'd briefly greeted upon his return. Despite Arug'rak's impression, he had actually given thought to their situation and what he would do with the female. Whether or not she could handle it wasn't a concern.

An angry fist connecting with his jaw brought his thoughts to a painful halt and he staggered back a step. He briefly brought his hand up to rub his agitated mandible when he looked up from his thoughts. Arug'rak was staring at him now, brows drawn, chest heaving as he waited for a reply to a question that he realized with annoyance, he hadn't even heard….

The older warrior rolled his severe gaze.  
"Is your head clogged!" he snapped, realizing from the delayed response that K'tch's mind had wandered yet again.

He growled. K'tch was a wonderful warrior. He really was. Who better to acknowledge this than he who had beget him and trained him up since he was a crawler, but like those days long past, there was one trait it was obvious he'd never be rid of. The insane ability to tune-out anything and everything of little interest to him with an ease that was terrible to witness but downright torture to endure when attempting to have a conversation with him.

K'tch shrugged his shoulders, gaze averted, more out of discomfort than respect.

"No. It is clear," his tone was flat as he recovered rather quickly, leaning back against the wall and putting one hand on his belt as his superior's gaze burned down on him.

Arug'rak made a rough-sounding noise of displeasure as he shook his head, barking out the words of their language quickly.  
"Open your auditory devices and listen when I am speaking before I decide to test my theory of blowing a few holes in your skull…See if that works…"

K'tch swallowed, forcing down the tension that rose within him at that comment. It was a nasty threat, but highly unlikely that Arug'rak would seriously injure his own blood. He raised the muscle of his left brow. Then again, he swallowed, this was Arug'rak he was talking about. The hunter was at times an unpredictable warrior who tended to treat him more like a static comrade than one of his favored offspring. And he clearly remembered the unfortunate fate that had befallen one promising near comrade.

It may have been slim, but there was still a chance he could get his head knocked off even at this point of familiarity. When you were in the strong warrior's favor, you didn't know it because there had ever been any gifts awarded or praise bestowed upon you..

You were alive. Your skull wasn't hanging from his belt. That's how you knew.

"My head works…" K'tch forced a pleasant tone, wishing he could be anywhere but dealing with Arug'rak at that moment.

"Then answer my damn question. What possessed you to even fuck that stupid inferior creature!?" he practically spat.

The crease between K'tch's brow muscles grew tight at the colorful adjectives used to describe his female.

"A lot," he admit, straining to maintain his control.

Arug'rak spun away from him angrily, a few of his long locks slapping his face and chest with the clank of beads and bones. His movements were sharp as he walked back over to what looked like a desk adjacent and angrily sat down. K'tch watched as he picked up a bloody skull with his left hand, right grabbing a tube-like device that extended from an opening on the right and continued to clean one of the newest additions to his collection.

"Pray tell…" he ground out sarcastically. Before K'tch could respond, he turned to him again, hands paused, voice calmer. "Tell your maker why you've abandoned sense and tradition in foolish pursuit of this human.."

The younger warrior grunted.  
"The female is annoying. She is untrained and bold. She is feisty at times but proven to be of help. She is useful and perhaps loyal."

"Or you're just horny."

His mandible's twitched.

"A little."

"Our mission is finished now. I have seen to that," he noted proudly as his fist nudged his chest thrice. "It is in your best interests to get off of the pleasure boat before I sink it. The ride is over.."

"Far from it…" he stated.

"This ship is docked. Either leave her at the bay or get off with her."  
K'tch shook his head.

"I can do neither. I want her with me."

Arug'rak lifted the brow muscle over his left eye, mandibles clicking for a moment as he spoke in their native tongue.

"As a mate, I assume?" he watched him tensely for a reply, shocked by the answer.

K'tch nodded, Arug'rak shaking his head again.

"I now define you as the stupidest of my seed.."

"And the strongest," K'tch added.

Arug'rak's mandibles twitched in thought before turning back to his skulls.  
"The stupidest…."

The younger warrior's features darkened as he replied.  
"Whatever. I still want her."

"You do know what this means, don't you…" Arug'rak questioned, words lowered in agitation.  
K'tch nodded once more, not so phased by the thought.  
"Yeah. She must come with us."

Arug'rak sighed. Pity. He was looking forward to adjusting the atmosphere of the entire ship, having allowed his best warrior to adjust it to accommodate his company. It looked like they would have to keep on periodically sleeping with the breathing apparatus to keep their biology under control.

The soft sound of scraping could be heard as the oldest warrior carried out his cleaning, mood lifting at the pleasure he found in it.

"I'm going to laugh when she dies during the first season in our world," he announced.

"I bet she wont.." K'tch declared with a sneer.

* * *

After listening to her I-pod for less than half an hour, she found herself examining the room. As she hopped off the bed, her eyes traced the carved linear designs of the wall to her right, all the way to the trophy case that was almost always on display. Such care had gone into the maintenance of each and every skull. The newest one glinted under the stark white light that shone above it. She could only assume by its unnervingly fresh appeal that it was Jones's. She shuddered inwardly, trying to understand the reasoning behind committing such a strange and violent act, something that was a blatant disregard for human life.

After finishing whatever it was that was so important, he'd come back to his quarters where sure enough, Sharon had been waiting, sitting placidly in the middle of his bed, feet dangling over the edge as she smirked at him.

After all of the inappropriate thoughts that had been running through mind, she found herself uncomfortable about approaching him, instead speaking.

"That was some rescue..." she remarked, K'tch continuing toward her with the very definition of a scowl on his face. He hated being told what to do…

Mechanically, he removed his armor and weapons before stripping, mumbling something with a not-too-pleasant tone in his language. Something was obviously on his mind. She shrugged off the thought of his agitation. What else was new..

Her eyes widened in shock as he stripped as though she were invisible, grabbing a neat set of cloth from a hook near the display case and armor. Without so much as a glance in her direction, he simply dressed himself in a different loin and then walked out of the room.

She frowned at his actions, eyes traveling down the sway of his back before guiltily pausing at his firm gluteus, then further down to the well-toned backs of his thighs and calves. She'd had little time to forget the image of him storming off when he'd returned nearly fifteen minutes later, clad in his loin and looking significantly calmer. As he took a seat beside her it had become clear by his softer scent and moist skin that he'd been down to the shower and was much more agreeable as a result.

Almost immediately, she leaned against him, left cheek pressing into his shoulder a little.

"Everything, ok?" she inquired, cocking her head a little to look up at him.

He nodded once, unsure of how to interpret her behavior. Before he could wreck his brain any further trying to piece it together, her right hand came up, slipping around his waist. She looked up at him as her left arm slipped behind him to complete the embrace. K'tch purred softly. There was a term for this in their language. If he thought hard enough about it he remembered it was known as cuddling. It was a sign of affection, something he was never too anxious to display in front of others.

He leaned into her a little, brushing his mandibles against her forehead a gently.

"Mmm..." she suddenly moaned softly in content, K'tch's eyes scanning her quickly at the sound.

She was just indulging in the feeling of content when his voice sounded, startling her by the request.  
"Come with me…" his low voice spoke her language slowly.  
She looked up at him, wondering if she'd heard right.

"W-what?"

"City…in confusion. Come with me," he gestured to himself, "wait for it to pass.…back home with me."

Her eyes became impossibly wide.  
"Back… home?" she questioned, suddenly remembering her own home. She had a step-father who'd stopped the state from seizing her birth mother's house after the woman's untimely death. She hadn't seen him since she was a child and they'd never quite gotten along. She took a deep breath. He was practically dead to her anyway. She had no siblings or close cousins. The only people she could think of were friends and co-workers, wondering what stories they'd concocted in her lengthy absence.

"But……" she faltered when he snaked his right hand around her waist.  
Before she realized what had happened, the arm around her waist had lifted to her face as he leaned down a little, brushing the side of his mandibles against her lips, hot breath near her ear.

"Do it…" his softened voice advised.

She looked away nervously, unsure if such contact should be allowed to happen again. She knew exactly what would happen if it did...His eyes narrowed at her quiet refusal, more in interest than anger as his right hand came up beneath her chin, directing her mouth toward his. The initial contact was gentle, but firm as the action sent a ripple of pleasure through her senses. She surprised him by inhaling sharply as he spoke again.

"Its safer….with me…"

He turned a little toward her, right hand reaching between her thighs and rubbing the moist skin softly through her clothing. She moaned, left hand grabbing his right forearm, her right holding onto his shoulder to keep herself from collapsing back onto the bed. If she lay back, then surely there would be no stopping the inevitable.

She just had to remember her resolve and get a grip on her senses.

"Hey, K'tch.." she breathed, a little frightened by the need to put more volume in her breathy words. He continued to caress her, purring in content. "K'tch…. why…..why do you keep, doing this to me…" she questioned. He pulled back just a little until her eyes met his.

"We...both like it…" he rationalized.

All at once she felt the blood rush to her loins, greatly sensitizing the already sensitive flesh. Almost reflexively, she parted her legs wider, trying not to slip off of the bed as he ever so slowly slipped his hand beneath her shorts and caressed the engorged folds lining her womanhood, parting them to find the slick wet entrance. She inhaled shaky breaths at the anticipation.

"K'tch," she breathed. "Please…. I can't…think when you-" she suddenly whimpered as her body welcomed him as he carefully worked a finger inside, pulling back and thrusting it a few times to determine if she was ready. In one swift motion her shorts were gone, shirt following suit and leaving her exposed. 

"Ohh!"

Her clitoris was pulsating with desire, her body warm and waiting to receive him.

"K'tch….I don't know…. if leaving-"

"Shut-up…" he practically breathed against her neck.  
Her breaths had begun to come more quickly as his mouth found that spot between her jaw and shoulder that made her melt. Then he did something that she did not expect. He pushed her urgently back onto their bed, the woman looking up at him anxiously as she lifted herself to her elbows to peer up at him.

"Really…. I should stay…" she managed.

He stood up and came to rest in front of her. One hand on each thigh, he spread her legs far apart as she watched him, waiting for him to position himself, her body anxious to receive his. Instead, he kneeled before her, lifting her legs over his shoulders, his mandibles spreading as his soft strong mouth descended upon her gender.

That should put a stop to her refusal.

She collapsed back onto the bed, a shocked cry of pure rapture torn from her throat as the sensation of something so warm and pliant engulfed her. He worked her accordingly anxious to put his latest copulation notes to the test. Sharon moaned helplessly beneath him, head tossing from side to side in disbelief. Her first and last boyfriend hadn't even the guts to give her the most pleasurable and intimate kiss known to woman.

But K'tch, he'd taken it there without even a second thought.

Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes the feelings were so intense. Her hips lifted from the bed, his mouth nipping at her sensitive flesh at the right rhythm and in all the right places as he held her hips, restricting her attempts at thrusting.

"Oh God… Ohh.."

There was no time to even breathe as the pressure quickly built within her and he drove her body into a sweet climax. She arched with a cry, heels of her soft feet pressing into his back as he held her legs, still bent at the knee as they trembled over his shoulders.

Once he was certain that she'd had her first climax he withdrew slowly, rising and crawling up on the bed beside her. He pulled her dazed form atop of him, simply petting her, hand gliding up and down her back soothingly. In only several moments, she began to squirm against him, her body anxious for another round. She looked up at him, trying to hide her guilt as her nether regions longed for contact.

"You…will come with me…." he stated.

He was breathing deeply, eyes heavily lidded as he gazed up at her. It wasn't a suggestion, but a state of fact. His eyes never left hers as he guided her hand to his length. Her searching fingers trembled around the erection and he helped guide it between her shaking thighs. Her eyes stared into his as she lowered herself upon the stiff flesh, pleased by the sigh he made, accompanied by the glazed look his golden eyes acquired.

She had begun a steady rhythm, rocking softly until her body was comfortably adjusted. He began to purr a little as she tentatively rolled her hips and lifted them, feeling her abdominal muscles tighten before descending upon him. She felt a sense of pleasure at his subtle reactions. If she moved her narrow hips in a certain motion, she noticed how his breath caught every time or he trembled. The very idea that she was able to control such a reaction gave her the comfort she needed to proceed.

She had been riding him for little more than a few moments when he pushed himself up from his elbows, arms going about her back, a look of raw need in his eyes. All she could do was hold on tight as he pushed them both over, spreading himself out to tower over her. His hips descended upon hers and she moaned softly at the feeling of his throbbing erection against her inner thigh. Without warning, he thrust himself back into her, pausing every so often to gyrate deep within her, her entire body jarring with the force.

The only thought she could conjure was that of the sweet blissful sensations traveling all over her body, making her gasp and moan. His right hand came up to fondle her breasts, grabbing at the soft flesh and kneading it anxiously, tip of his index gently rubbing the hardened nipples, mouth following suit.

The weight of his hips pressing into her own was such sweet comfort, warm hard stomach, sliding against hers as his hips pumped.  
She chanced a glance up at him in his ecstasy. His eyes were heavily lidded, jaw hanging open, mandibles opening just a little as he threw his head back, drawing a trembling breath as his hips moved blindly with the rush, jerking quickly several times inside of her..

He made a strange snarl-like noise as he was hit by the impetuous waves of orgasm, Sharon losing her focus as the rhythmic contact both against and within her finished her off too.  
Her left hand dug into his back, right reaching to his hips to hold him down inside of her as she reveled in the aftershocks of the climax.

"Don't-" she whispered as she locked her legs around his, unwilling to let his body depart hers just yet.  
He struggled to abide by her desire, resting a few more moments within her before slowly pulling his spent organ out of the soft wet confines of all that was her, shuddering as her muscles tensed just a moment around him before releasing him fully.  
He then wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up against him and petting her with utter satisfaction. That was good enough for today. After all, he was still a little tired from that mission. 

His thoughts began to wander toward home and the land and faces he hadn't seen in quite a long time. It would be interesting to have her see the world that he had been raised within. It wasn't anything special, but he was actually starting to miss. He looked down at the woman who had fallen lax against him. 

It was amazing how quickly those orgasms put her out...

She had expressed hesitance in joining him. Oh well. Who cares what she thought she wanted. She wanted him, she'd stuck with him and she was going home with him, whether she wanted to or not…. 


	23. Departure

It was official

Author: Phew!! (Wipes sweat from forehead). Here's the final chapter to Seasons before I start the sequel. Enjoy.

Warning: Language and sexual content

Sharon blinked slowly as she sluggishly came back to consciousness. It was official. K'tch had done something to her brain to make her crazy. Her thoughts had been conflicting ever since they last copulated. Her brows drew down in deep thought as she sat up in bed, surrounded by the glow of his trophy case.

Of course he was nowhere in site. He always seemed to be up before her, she frowned. Her loins ached, legs unconsciously parting, tight muscles just begging to be stretched and filled by his girth once again. Ohhh he'd done something to her alright, she concluded. No matter what her body wanted, she had to resist because none of it made an ounce of sense to her. She hated him, hated him with a passion for brutally murdering dozens of innocent people. His kind took a perverse pleasure in unspeakable horrors. That was reason enough to hate him, wasn't it? Knowing this, she was completely baffled by the fact that she couldn't stop thinking about him. Feeling imprisoned in his ship and being forced to see him every day didn't help things either. Whenever he entered the room, she couldn't help feeling some sort of relief that came with his presence although as usual, she made a conscious effort to conceal it.

Still, even the strongest of desires couldn't prevent her from arguing with him the morning after. Only an hour after arising, he had returned to his quarters where they had inevitably found themselves locked in an argument over the hunter's claim that she had agreed to join him, which she vehemently denied. According to K'tch, her mating with him was more than just an act but a strange unspoken binding in his clan. As a result, she was leaving her planet with him and the decision wasn't up for debate. He refused to leave without her and she refused to leave her planet with him.

In a fit of anger she had ripped the fabric from the bed they'd been sharing and gone back to sleep in the holding room that day.

It had taken a few good hours and some input on Tzukra's part, but K'tch had eventually decided as a compromise to let her have one night to do whatever it was she wished to do before their departure. He regret that decision moments after she revealed her intentions to him. She requested that she stop by her old job before departing for his planet to retrieve something of personal value to her. Not only that, but she had knowingly requested the worst thing he could have possibly imagined. It was something he knew from observation that her kind could do for hours and hours with little intention or result.

She wanted to_ talk_ to him. She needed a moment away from the ship where he would join her and define this thing she referred to as a relationship.

Oddly enough, he found himself on edge just thinking about it, but he couldn't let her know that. So, he'd taken everything in practiced confidence even as the cloaked ship had settled onto the top of the quiet building.

As, K'tch himself had cloaked and followed close behind her, she paused and turned to him.

"There's something very precious to me that I left here a while ago," she informed him. "I'll handle everything. You can follow, but don't do or say anything, okay? There shouldn't be anyone here at this time of night but stay cloaked just in case."

A growl was her answer.

She found herself crouching in her dark shirt and shorts, tightening the laces to her sneakers. K'tch waited patiently, glancing around at the equipment atop the building. Large metal boxes had a hand in controlling the temperature inside of the establishment. Something that looked like an elongated tube was pumping white smoke from somewhere. He could see onto the tops of the adjacent buildings, switching his scanner a few times before the small woman at his side tapped him.

"C'mon," she pointed to dark hole attached to a ladder. "This ladder goes down and leads to a main hall. I worked in an office about two floors down from here.." That said, she walked around in front of it, turning her back as she kneeled, proceeding to place one foot on the ladder and holding on to the sides. After several seconds, she was already descending it, K'tch following.

Sharon used the faint light that seeped into the exit to find a switch, quickly flipping it on to find her way to the door once reaching the floor. Despite assuming that the building was empty, she still lowered her voice to that of a whisper. She was unable to see her partner at all, trusting he was still beside her. She opened the rusty door that led to a pristine and dark hallway. She'd only ever been at work this late on two occasions, one involving a meeting. She glanced around at the dark offices, turning a corner to find herself facing another familiar set of white stairs. She descended them quickly, casually reaching forward and grabbing the handle to the exit door, looking back at her invisible partner and holding it open a second longer to make sure he'd gone through.

Trusting that he had, she crept on before reaching her office on the right for the last time. She produced a key from one of the folds in her clothing, reaching up and unlocking the door.

She immediately walked to the window to the far left, drawing the shades down in the little office. There were boxes littered around the desk that sat in the center of the room. She flipped on the desk-light before turning to the nearest box and grabbing a pen, stabbing into the tape and pulling it open.

A frown slowly crept onto her face at the site of her belongings.

So the bastards had assumed her demise and were trashing her office things? With a sigh of frustration, she began tearing through the remaining several boxes in search of what she'd come for. She'd momentarily glanced around the room, slightly miffed that there was no sign of her partner, until she heard a slight purr at her left.

"Oh, there you are," she whispered. "Well, while we're here, it's about time we had that talk."

She heard a faint growl.

"I wanted to ask you just what you meant by asking me to come back with you. I don't want you to speak in here though. Your voice would carry more. To answer yes, just put your hand on my shoulder. Don't do anything if you mean no. Now," she spoke softly as she set a small box on top of the desk and began working at the tape. "About what's going to happen when I leave this planet… Do you know of any humans I could interact with where you're from?" she whispered.

There was nothing.

She sighed. Well that was encouraging. "Don't you think I'll get lonely?" she inquired, pulling at the box flaps.

Still, there was nothing.

"I want to know what the real deal is before I take you up on your offer," she rummaged around the desk for something sharper to open the box with. "I know I can either stay here and likely spend the rest of my life rotting in prison or running from cops, or I can go with you. Quite honestly, most girls wouldn't just hop onto a strange ship to a strange land with a guy that looked like you. But, everything that's happened in the last near two months has been unexpected," she bit her bottom lip as she pulled the small box open. "The only reason I'm considering it is because you've actually shown some sense of affection toward me. But, I wanna know. Is there more to this affection you've shown than simply…. using me?" she asked tentatively.

The silence was almost maddening as she paused, waiting for his response. She should have known better than to think that a creature such as him could harbor actual feelings toward her kind. Angrily, she jabbed a ball point pen into the surface of the box to loosen the tape. Any fool could see that he had been using her from the beginning simply to carry out his mission. Nothing more. He'd been using her body for his own pleasure as well. To even think that he was capable of actually caring about her emotional well-being was a joke.

She began to wonder why she even bothered to ask him when she felt a warm hand close over her shoulder, her body relaxing.

She turned toward the invisible figure.

"So…. you actually care about what happens to me then?"

The hand lifted and then closed over her shoulder once more, easing her fears.

She seemed satisfied with that answer as she peered into the box, realizing it didn't have what she was looking for.

"You do a damn horrible job of expressing it…" she declared. There was silence as she quickly set the box on the side to make room for another one.

"Still…." she continued, "If I go with you, there's a chance that I can still come back here…isn't there?"

He responded favorably.

She had just hefted the last box onto to the top of the dark wood desk when the door at her back creaked open.

The invisible hand left her shoulder.

"I'll handle this…" she whispered quickly, worried he might react.

Her eyes lit up in both shock and amusement, as a short man wearing a dress shirt, striped tie and dark slacks peeked curiously into the dark office. Her eyes widened, the man mirroring her expression as they both recognized the other.

"Sh-Sharon? Is that you?" he questioned.

"Bob?" she lowered her voice. "What the hell are you still doing here?"

"I'd left my phone up here after work. Just drove back to get it and saw the light from the hallway. I thought it was the janitor until I heard your voice. Damn-it, girl, where've you been? The feds had been crawling this place for weeks after you disappeared," the short man's eyes glanced at the half dozen haphazardly opened boxes almost guiltily. "Ohh… about those," he scratched his head in thought, "you do know that you were fired right? You haven't been to work in over a month. They had no choice."

The young woman shrugged her shoulders.

"Figures. That's fine. I wont be coming back here anyway. I just came for something I'd left," she admit as she turned to the last box, peeling back the flaps and reaching in, face beaming as she pulled out a small framed childhood photo she'd been searching for.

"Are you in some kind of trouble?" the dark-haired man raised a brow.

"N-…no.. It's a long story though, Bob and its not even over yet. Don't worry about it. Let's just say, I've had a lot of problems lately and I'm going away. I don't know if I'll ever come back."

The bright-eyed man cocked his head in confusion.

"Oh…..kay….."

"I'm finished here. I just want you to tell everyone I know that I left and that I'm not coming back," she then averted her gaze as she grabbed the small box and took a step past him toward the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?"

The dark-haired woman half-turned. "You'd think I was crazy if I told you. Just know that I'll be alright okay? I had fun working with you and Alyssa. Take care, Bob." With little more than a glance, she slipped past the stunned man, making her way back up to the roof and the waiting ramp.

It was time to leave the feelings of warmth and familiarity behind, to forget about all of those she had grown to love and held dear to her heart.

It was time to leave.

Her head was tilted and pressed against the control room window, eyes staring out at the passing foliage, unseeing. Her entire body was lax as the craft ascended into the air. After being instructed to strap herself in for a good several nerve-wrecking moments, they had pierced Earth's atmosphere and she was once again allowed to wander the ship.

That's when the sadness had begun.

From that day forward, she'd sat in the only other window she'd been able to find, surprisingly in K'tch's room. There was a button in the folds of designs beside his trophy case that she'd been rather curious to try and too depressed to consider weighing the pros and cons of pushing. The seemingly endless void of space had greeted her from behind a strong transparent barrier. The view was shaped like an oblong diamond, stretched horizontal on the wall beside the case. Although the lack of scenery was further depressing, it still made for a view that was rare and hard to turn away from. She'd never imagined that she would get a glimpse of the space that surrounded her planet, much less find herself travelling to another...

Everyone had taken notice of her increasingly reclusive depression. For days she'd sat unmoving in K'tch's quarters, leaving his bed only to carry out the most essential of functions.

She'd never felt sadness like this in her entire life. The memory of her father leaving her as a child was nothing in comparison to the ache she'd been enduring ever since the beautiful blue planet she called home had shrank into the distance, its image quickly becoming nothing more than a memory. A part of her began to dim with each passing day, her hope of seeing it again fading. She swallowed down the lump in her throat, pressure building behind her eyes as fresh tears began to cling to the rim, threatening to spill over. She hoped that she'd made the right decision. God only knew what awaited her in the days to come...

K'tch growled in frustration as he returned to the control room after a good shower. It was day three and Sharon had barely given him or anyone the time of day since leaving her planet. Tzukra had hypothesized that she wasn't being given the right kind of attention, which of course made no sense to the older warrior.

Romance and reassurance were foreign concepts all their own in regard to a mate. He'd scrambled his brain trying to figure out the necessity in constantly complimenting a woman the way a human male did in practice of one of their many decidedly unnecessary courtship rituals. He thought back to the female that had taken to staring out at this new dark and desolate road that she had never travelled before. He clicked in confusion. She didn't need compliments. She didn't need gifts of flattery. She didn't need those things to realize that he'd come to favor her. He'd wooed her and risked his life in the past on her behalf. Not only that but he'd taken her to his ship. He'd mated with her. He'd actually taken her to his bed which was a downright compliment. The act in and of itself meant more than saying 'you're beautiful' every day to her ever could.

Still, he needed to do something if she was going to stop sulking over having to leave her home world. He'd initiated mating once since the journey began, only to find her disturbingly uninterested and unresponsive. Tzukra had attributed her behavior to her deep attachment to her planet and suggested giving her more time before initiating another round. If perhaps he were more careful with her, he could convince her to mate and make him remember why it was he was reluctant to leave her in the first place. Still, after all of this time, she had shown resistance.

It might have gone on longer had she not picked a fight. After wandering around the ship and being snubbed for the umpteenth time by Arug'rak, she couldn't help but unleash her foul mood on K'tch after a failed attempt at conversation.

He'd entered the room and sat at the controls, the woman beside him staring out into space when she stood at his presence, looking anything but intimidating in a long white t-shirt that fell to her knees. She had an unpleasant look in her eyes.

"Just what have you been up to?" she raised a brow as she watched him tap a few buttons and then adjust a lever.

Silence was her answer.

She sighed as she looked back out of the window, fighting back her emotions.

"You see, this is why I should have stayed on earth. People back there actually talk to me," her eyes suddenly prickled with tears as she began to ponder the possibility of a new life devoid of meaningful and familiar conversation. She dreaded the idea of trying to familiarize herself with a sea of alien faces and customs that would become a part of her new life. She shook her head. "But you don't. You don't even make an effort…" she wiped her eyes quickly, clearing her voice. "You may be different physically, but mentally you're like most men I know. You'd rather fuck me than have a meaningful conversation ." A few moments past before she glanced over at him, eyes angry. "Are you even listening to me?"

He took his time turning toward her, his answer a silent nod.

"Then why don't you fucking talk to me!" she suddenly snapped, tears of frustration building in her dark eyes.

He sighed, shoulders sagging as he stood and approached the emotional creature. After all she'd been through, which wasn't much by his standards, she could at least grow a backbone.

That was it. He'd had enough of her self-pity and sulking. He'd had enough of her misguided anger, frustration and insolence. She'd been stingy with the idea of pleasure for days yet generous with sharing her agitation. If she couldn't get used to his ways by now, there'd be no hope for her back home. He'd always had trouble, even back on the home planet expressing his feelings. He had no choice but to consciously assure her both verbally and physically before things got out of hand.

He stood. He wasn't someone to play with..

If this didn't get it through her thick skull, then he just didn't know what would.

He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, pushing her back against the wall, her eyes widening at the force. His right hand came up to her throat with force enough to make her gasp, his index sliding up to push her jaw and direct her gaze back toward him. She looked about ready to burst into tears and he had to force himself to maintain control, remembering how easy it was to harm her.

He leaned down a little, studying her features for a second before his mandibles parted and his deep voice filled the air.

"I talk ….. I just _hate_…your language."

"Huh?" his explanation was almost humorous as she was caught between laughing and crying. "Is… is that all…" her voice softened as his hand slid down her neck, pausing at her collar before grabbing her other shoulder.

"Yes…." he answered.

The small woman shook her head as she swallowed. "But this, all of this….its something I've never done before. I don't know exactly what you're thinking of this you and me thing. It's not like you're the boy next door. You enjoy doing things I could never take pleasure in. And don't you ever grab my throat again like that…" her expression darkened.

The humanoid grunted.

"Our females…like it…."

Sharon took a deep breath. "Well I don't. You see how different we are?" she persisted. "You do things that I can't stand. I've watched you hunt and kill other human beings for fun-"

"For trophy..."

"God, that's a big problem between you and me that we're going to have to work on. And why did you even want me to come so much? I've been thinking about this constantly. What if I can't fit in. Are you doing this to make me crazy?! Is this part of some joke? Am I an amusement to you? A game?"

"No…"

She sniffed.

"Then why bring me…"

He growled.

"..to know…my origins.."

"What does it matter if I know where you're from?" she averted her gaze angrily. "What does that even mean to you?"

"You're angry…and scared. Rest…" he advised.

"You're damn right I'm angry. I don't know where the hell I'm going or what I'll be doing, how I'll survive…"

He rolled his eyes, grip on her shoulders loosening. Why did everything have to be so scary to her. Why did her brain make things seem more problematic than they really were.

"Stop…I will.. keep you safe…"

"And just what _am_ I to you?" she folded her arms as he looked away.

Oh how he hated such conversations…. As much as he didn't feel like verbally expressing what was going on in his mind, he realized that it was necessary for the human female.

He searched for the right words in his mind, coming up with the equivalent in her language. He didn't like the word at all, more because of the difficult consonant it began with than its meaning, but if she wanted the truth and it could break her strange cycle of depression, then she could have it.

"My…lover."

Her gaze shot back up to him in surprise.

"What? Did you just say what I think you said?" she questioned.

He nodded, adding, "Yes… You are.." the muscles where his brows would be drew down.

Suddenly she felt guilty. She was his lover? That was a word reserved for the Shakespearean romantics, the artists and the novelists. The word was foreign coming from the likes of him. Her eyes narrowed. Did he even know what he was saying... or was this some sort of trick.

She cocked her head.

"Are you… sure?" she doubted his translation.

He growled, trying to piece his English together fast enough as he slowly lowered her to the floor. "You think…I care to lie…Sharon…?" he made a noise that sounded like a chuckle. "If you hate me… then why does THIS… arouse you…" he argued as he pushed her knees apart before nestling his hips between them.

The feeling of his hard length pressed against her womanhood made her breath catch and she shuddered with pleasure. He didn't wait for her to recover, for surely she would start questioning everything. His actions were more important than words could ever hope to be and she needed to realize that. Without a second thought, he began to gyrate against her pleasurably, delighted when she moaned. In a matter of mere moments she was fully aroused, eyes rolling dazedly as she grabbed his forearms. He made a quick motion with his arms to dislodge her grip, hands quickly finding hers as he slipped his fingers between her own, lowering her hands to the floor on either side of her.

"K-… K'tch…." she managed, "Please…"

"You fight me….. Surrender…" he demanded.

"But you're…. I just…Ohh…"

"Please…" he pushed against her anxiously.

"But…. I-"

"Emotional…creature…" he observed aloud.

"What of it…." she breathed. "You'll probably….forget me...soon as we land on-Mmm!" she whimpered as he could wait no longer, ripping his loin aside, pushing the shirt up past her hips and sinking his organ into her moist entrance.

He emitted a deep rumble she recognized as laughter as her body enveloped him completely. Was he crazy? Her body involuntarily clenched around him.

"I bet… you'll forget.." she whimpered dazedly at the wonderful feeling of his organ rubbing against the sensitive flesh.

"How?" his deep voice softened. "I'm…in too deep…" he admit as she watched him in confusion through drowsy eyes. "Literally…and…" he grunted, "figuratively…"

Despite the situation, she found herself suppressing a giggle. "Heh…. not deep enough," she shot back.

She was pleasantly surprised by his slight humor. Now that's what she needed from him, to be subjected to his rarely verbal witticism. That was something that made her feel less invisible and more at ease, more comfortable and most importantly, more at home….something she needed to feel if she was going to maintain her sanity.

K'tch himself wasn't used to the need for much emotional conversation just as Sharon wasn't used to anyone being so terse with her. She sighed, lifting her hips to meet his as the feelings she'd denied herself began to surface and she couldn't help but give in to them.

She grabbed at his hips feverishly, her entire body beginning to glisten with sweat. He thrust carefully a few times before putting his arms around her and rolling her to lie on top of him.

She smiled before leaning down and brushing her lips against the side of his mandibles.

"I hate what you do, but I don't really hate you…" she breathed, arching her back as she clenched her muscles around him.

He groaned in ecstasy, hands grabbing her by the hips and rubbing soothingly before adding, "Ditto…"

She laughed weakly.

Their bodies continued to move as one, both caught up in the moment where for the first time, they felt a flicker of understanding for the other.

Of course they didn't always agree, but their unique differences were something that they would just have to work on _outside_ of their wonderful sex-life.

About an hour later, a satisfying feeling of warmth spread throughout her entire body, her mind finally finding peace as she lay her head on his shoulder with a sigh, letting the comfortable feelings take her over completely. There would be many future hardships and trials ahead of her, only now she could look forward to them, knowing that there would be someone willing to help her, someone who knew her, who wanted her, who was interested in her well-being. It had been unexpected and the transition from frightened prisoner to lover had been confusing, but K'tch had made it worthwhile by letting her clearly know that he planned to be there for her. After little thought, she came to the conclusion that if she just believed in her own competence and wit and held on tight to her human sense of morality, then there was a good chance that she would be alright. She was from Earth and there was nothing anyone from his planet could ever do to make her forget it.

She needed to hold on to herself, to find that thread of faith and never let it go. She couldn't afford to lose it now, she realized with caution. The real fight for her safety, for her place in their world... The real journey, was just beginning...

-End


End file.
